The Mainframe Saga
by DeliriousAbsol
Summary: Government conspiracies abound, space pirates and mercenaries play cat and mouse across the skies, and robots roam the streets. Life seems pretty normal and quiet for the most part, until you look deeper than the surface and see what is really going on in the shadows. Welcome to Mainframe. (Cast - Immense. Story dependent. Contains multiple ships!) - Temporary Hiatus See Chapter 23
1. PW Chapter 1

**A/N - This might seem like a sneaky drop to some, as I totally neglected updating my profile! So... nice surprise? If you're following me on Tumblr or the Sonic Amino, this is the story I announced was coming out earlier in the week! Here it is!**

**This is a pretty immense project that will span several different stories. This first one, Project Wreckingball, is pretty much a scene setter and I had a LOT of fun with it.**

**The cast of this story is IMMENSE, both cannon and OCs. So some stories will revolve around different characters. If you have a favourite, chances are they will be included. **

**This is also an AU. While I try to keep canon characters in character, a scattering (2 or 3) aren't. This is due to the way their stories have played out differently, and is a plot device. Please bare this in mind =) Thank you!**

**If you post a review, I will reply to it in the closing comments in the next chapter! =D I enjoyed this in The Mask Behind the Monster, so I look forward to doing so again!**

**Synopsis for Project Wreckingball: The Chaotix are after evidence to prove a conspiracy. Team Datastream are trying to stop them. GUN is up to something. Something they've dubbed Project Wreckingball. It's your typical mercenary versus space pirate fiasco until things take a surprising turn... 'Project Wreckingball' is out there, living up to his name, with an unfortunate fashion designer as his hostage!**

**(Disclaimer for entire saga - Sonic the Hedgehog and its characters (c) SEGA, and IDW for comic characters).**

The Mainframe Saga

Project Wreckingball

Chapter One

The doors were already wide open before Tsunami reached the laboratory. A huge, towering GUN facility for testing weapons. Out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains and deserts. The code panel beside the door sparked, signs of a careless hack job that had resulted in its destruction.

"No patience," said Crash.

Tsunami looked up at the army-green pangolin beside her as he tutted and shook his head. Her twin flipped his laser into the air, catching it in his right hand, and eyed the door curiously.

"You're telling me," said Tsunami. "We'd better track down these pirates before they blow the whole thing up." She reached between one of her long green scales to adjust her headset slightly. "What's the state of the place, Decode?"

The bush baby's young voice 'hmm'd down her ear and she picked up the faint clacking of computer keys.

'All the cameras are out,' he said. 'And the security code has been scrambled, so unless the guards have any hacking skills they won't be back online for hours.'

"Perfect," said Tsunami. "That means the Chaotix won't see us coming."

'I was thinking the same thing,' said Decode. 'Pretty sloppy strategy on their part. Must be a 'straight in, straight out' drill. The tracker you left on the crocodile is still active, so if you're quick, they're heading to the second floor.'

"Roger." Tsunami tilted her gun and grinned at her brother. "That's exactly why I aimed for his headphones."

"Until he drops them somewhere," said Crash.

"Such little faith."

She stepped inside the facility and paused to take it in. Not so much as a footstep. Cameras hung idly from the sharp bend ahead of them, one fixed on the door. Lifeless. The floor had been scrubbed clean enough to show the dusty footprints tracked in from outside, but whether they were from the pirates alone was a mystery. She noted an air vent a few feet along and waved to catch Crash's eye.

"Where do the air vents lead, Decode?" she asked.

'Oh, everywhere,' said the bush baby. 'They wind throughout the entire laboratory. Ladders, layers… just watch out for the fans.'

Tsunami tilted her gun to the air vent and Crash leapt towards it. He smashed the grate with a fist, creating an almighty clang that attacked his sister's eardrums. But not a single hint of regret crossed his face. He discarded the grate to the floor and leapt inside, curling into a tight spiky ball. The tubes rattled as he rolled along them, out of sight but not out of reach.

"Keep me posted, both of you," said Tsunami.

'You're gonna wanna be quick,' said Decode. 'They're already heading for the third floor. I guess they've not found what they're looking for yet.'

She said nothing, hugging the wall as she followed Decode's directions toward the stairwell. An elevator rose up on her right. Too slow and noisy to be reliable. So she opted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Footsteps exploded above her and she vaulted the banister to the next set of stairs, swinging her heavy tail ahead of herself for momentum. A long purple tail vanished through the door and it swung shut behind the space pirate.

The pangolin reached under the hem of her dress for a throwing knife and barged through the doors, her thin blue scarf trailing behind her like a streamer. The purple chameleon raced down the corridor on her left to follow the bend. Before he could reach it, Tsunami sent the knife ahead of her. It struck the wall before his nose and he let out a squeak of alarm. She picked up pace, leveling her gun towards his head. It didn't matter if she turned them in alive or dead. They'd struck GUN's last nerve.

As she fired, the chameleon vanished before her eyes. The blue laser beam struck the wall, leaving behind nothing more than an ugly black scuff.

She rushed towards the wall scanning left and right, the red overlay of her visor flickering in the fluorescent lighting. Invisible prey. She was beginning to feel the toll of not splashing out for a thermal upgrade.

"Drat, I lost him," she hissed, skidding to a halt at the bend. "Where's the croc?"

'They split up,' said Decode. 'He's a good twenty feet or so behind you.'

The ceiling rattled away from her as Crash rolled after the crocodile. That left her chasing after the slippery chameleon. Unlike his friend, she'd not managed to lay a tracker on him. She tugged the blade free from the wall and fastened it back to her leg before following the corridor down its bend.

Then she faltered.

What if he'd slipped past her? Merely a decoy to get her off their tails?

She clenched her teeth together and followed after Crash, keeping her gun poised beside her head. Sure enough, something blurry scurried along the walls. She watched it scramble up to the ceiling ahead of her then vanish completely. The pangolin narrowed her eyes and tutted. Not likely. She curled into a ball and shot ahead of him as the chameleon dropped down to the ceiling on all-fours.

He kept low to the ground, poised to spring, as he narrowed his golden eyes at her.

"Of all the mercenaries to send after us," he said, "why did they choose you?"

Tsunami squeezed the trigger, but once again the pirate vanished. His voice came from above her, drawing her eye to the ceiling.

"We must really be onto something if they're sending killers like you."

Another fire. Another miss. She usually never missed. Tsunami stifled a frustrated growl as she searched the corridor for the invisible pirate. Metal sliced the air and she spun on the spot, bringing up her tail as a shield. A shuriken bounced off it and rattled along the pristine tile floor.

"You're every bit as good as they say!" said the pirate.

More metal slicing air. She stepped to the side as a blade nicked her pouch belt, slicing through the brown leather. Not enough to cut it free. Thankfully it hadn't cut through to her flesh. She just caught the chameleon's blurry form as he leapt at her again, giving her enough time to side-step and grab her own throwing knife. There was no sense in firing lasers blindly at the walls. Not when any damage might come out of her pay.

'Crash, I think Nami's in trouble,' came Decode's voice. 'You might wanna backtrack a few feet.'

The ceiling rumbled as Crash's powerful form rolled back down the air vents. The space pirate lost his invisibility briefly as he turned his attention to the ceiling. It was enough of an opening for Tsunami to rush him with her blade, but he flicked out his tongue and knocked it from her grip. Pain shot through her hand and she instinctively clasped it to her chest. The space pirate leapt from her reach and vanished once more. Several pointed kunai flew her way and she deflected two of them with her tail. But the third skimmed her shoulder and she ducked to the floor with a hiss. How was she meant to fight what she couldn't see?!

"I'm not a murderer," said the pirate. "I don't want to kill you, but you're not leaving me much choice."

Tsunami pinpointed his blurry form and groped for her knife. Her hand fastened around it and she sent it soaring towards him with a flick of her wrist. He dropped, letting it strike the ceiling where his head had been. All it claimed was a few threads from his black scarf. The grate exploded from the air vent beside his falling body and Crash leapt from it, slamming the space pirate into the opposite wall. His camouflage dropped and he sat dazed beneath Crash's heavy body.

Tsunami rose to her feet and drew her laser again, aiming at the chameleon.

"Well, that's one of them," she said. "What about the other?"

'He's just left one of the data rooms,' said Decode. 'He's heading back your way.'

"All right." Tsunami nodded towards the end of the corridor.

Crash turned from her and froze, spreading his arms as the large crocodile barged through the double doors. His eyes widened when he spotted the mercenaries but he didn't stop.

The chameleon's golden eyes opened, staring down the barrel of Tsunami's laser. She squeezed the trigger, but it hit nothing but the wall. Air whipped up around the twin pangolins and they staggered back, raising their arms to shield their faces.

It subsided as fast as it had happened, and when Tsunami lowered her hands a deep groan left her throat. The corridor was empty.

'Nami? Crash?' Decode's voice echoed in her ear.

"Where have they gone?" she asked.

'They're fleeing the laboratory,' he said. 'What happened?'

"Ninja tricks," said Crash. "I guess they've not earned the title of 'Most Notorious Space Pirates in Mainframe' for nothing."

The bush baby gave a small sigh. 'I'm bringing The Raptor around. I'll pick you up outside.'

"We've not failed yet, kid," said Tsunami.

She trotted back to the stairs with her brother in tow.

'I know,' said Decode. 'That's why I'm suggesting we follow them.'

"Read my mind," she said. "I'm gonna guess they'll be heading back home."

Crash let out a lone laugh. "So we're off to Pulse City, eh? Bring it on."

...

Music blasted Vector's ears as he pulled himself back on board his ship. Espio stuck close behind him and pushed the button on the wall to close the door. It spiraled shut behind him, creating an air-tight seal.

The music grew louder as the crocodile entered the bridge and he paused beside Charmy's navigation system. With a swipe of his heavy paw, he struck the holo-computer and the loud music cut out, plunging the bridge into silence.

"Hey!" the bee complained. "I was celebrating."

"Celebrate quietly." Vector slumped down into his seat and rubbed his temples. "At least I now know why you couldn't hear us for the past ten minutes."

Charmy pouted. "You got the disk, didn't you?"

Espio closed his eyes and flopped into his own seat. "Just about."

"What do you mean 'just about'?"

"They sent Team Datastream after us!" Vector barked. "Not just your run-of-the-mill mercs. Espio almost got his tail handed to him!"

"Hey, I put up a good fight!" Espio tucked his arms behind his head and kicked his feet up on the control panel. "I'm just glad she clearly didn't have a heat tracker. Anyone else would have been toasted by that girl."

"You definitely provided a good distraction," said Vector.

"Which was my idea," said Charmy.

"It was my idea, since no one could contact you," Vector snorted. "Well, at least we got what we went in there for."

The crocodile tossed the small black disk into the air and caught it again.

"So are we going to check it out?" Espio asked. "See if the rumours are true?"

"If they are, the world's gonna seem like a much darker place," said Vector.

Charmy shuddered in his seat. "I'm not sure I want to know. Those rumours are scary."

Vector rose to join his allies and pulled out his computer. He popped the disk into its reader and a holo-screen flashed up before him. Words scrambled across it in a confusing fashion and the crocodile let out a sigh.

"Dumb GUN security nonsense," he grumbled. "Makes my job harder than it needs to be."

"Well you did steal it," said Charmy.

The crocodile looked down at him with a frown. "Why are you a space pirate again?"

"It sounded fun." Charmy reached beneath the navigation system and pulled out a soda carton almost the same size as him.

"What have I told you?" said Vector. "No drinks around the computers!"

He swiveled the Charmy's chair around one-eighty, eliciting a surprised squeal from the navigator.

"Do you think you can crack this?" Vector handed his computer to Espio.

The chameleon leant forward and tapped at the keypad. "It might take me a while. GUN really don't want outside people viewing whatever is on this."

"That only boosts my suspicions."

"What do you plan on doing with it?" asked Charmy. "Selling it like you usually do?"

"Not a chance," said Vector. "If the rumours are true, then selling this to anyone would only throw the whole of Mainframe into a panic." He rubbed his chin and glanced up at the ceiling. "Although the right person would pay pretty big for a juicy nugget like this."

"Play it safe," said Espio. "No decisions until we know what this disk contains."

"So payin' another pirate to hack into it is out, then?"

"Definitely," said Espio. "Leave that to me. Even if it takes me a week."

Vector turned from the chameleon and rubbed his muzzle. "With all we went through to get that, I expect it to be big. Cameras armed with heat trackers and lasers, top mercenaries, and the Eggman-grade robot guarding the room that thing were kept in. It's settin' off all kinds of alarms."

Espio looked up with a start. "You never mentioned the robot."

"It was nothin'," said Vector. "Smashed it to shrapnel before it could even warm its lasers."

"Nice." Espio turned back to the computer, fingers flying over the screen.

Charmy tried to get a peek at his work as he supped on his straw, but his eye went to the navigation screen instead. His antennae stiffened and he released his straw.

"Erm, guys…?" he said. "I think we've got a stalker."

Vector and Espio followed his eye and Vector groaned. A red dot, tailing their ship much too close for comfort.

"It's them mercs, isn't it?" he groaned. "How are they even following us?"

Charmy stared up at him and made a thoughtful noise. He buzzed into the air and fumbled with the back of Vector's left earphone.

"Hey, what are you… Stop buzzin' in my ear!" Vector swatted at the bee but Charmy dodged nimbly out of his reach. "Seriously, I-"

Charmy fell back down into his seat and held out a hand. "I think this might be the problem."

Vector plucked a small chip from the bee's palm and frowned at it. Black and square with a red trim. A little blue light flickered on the sticky underside.

"Sneaky little merc," he mumbled.

Espio took it from him then set it on the floor. With one stomp it was flattened onto the tiles, followed by a shuriken for good measure. The tiny bulb's blinking was brought to a stop as the shuriken wobbled in its circuitry.

"When did you let them stick a tracking chip on you?" he asked Vector.

The crocodile shrugged his huge shoulders and gave the shattered chip one last glare.

"It's dead now, right?" he asked.

"I don't think it matters," said Espio. "They're right there. We just need to outrun them."

"All right!" Vector turned to the bee. "Charmy, keep us going straight to Pulse City while we try to crack this code."

"Roger!" Charmy discarded his soda back beneath the computer and fired in the co-ordinates on the navigation deck. "Think they'll follow us there?"

"Probably," said Vector. "But they won't exactly be welcomed with a fanfare."

"Mercenaries frequent Pulse City almost as much as space pirates," said Espio. "I think your plan is flawed."

Vector folded his arms and huffed. "Well we won't welcome them with fanfare!"

"Oh! I'm in!" Espio leant closer to the palm-computer's holo-screen. "I genuinely thought I'd be working on this most of the night."

Vector leant over his shoulder, while Charmy buzzed by his ear. He shooed the bee to the side, just enough so the buzzing wasn't irritating his eardrums. Two files greeted them. 'Project Wreckingball', both numbered separately. Naturally, he opted for the first one. With each word, the crocodile's jaw dropped lower and lower.

"So the rumours were right," said Espio. "They are indeed making a living weapon."

"And usin' that poor guy, n'all." Vector stood back and pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "What are they thinking? He's a livin' thing."

"I don't think they're considering the ethics of it," said Espio. "At the end of the day, he's alien to this world. As far as GUN are concerned, our laws don't apply."

"Yet Eggman has them eatin' out of his hand?" Vector snorted. "That mustached freak is more alien than this guy. I mean, this guy's just like us!"

"Not quite," said Espio. "No one in Mainframe has his level of power."

They both turned back to the computer and Vector read over the material again.

"So they're wantin' to use this guy to get rid of Eggman and seal up Null Space?" said Vector. "Much more detail than the rumours held, I'll give it that."

"It's kind of ironic really," said Espio. "Given the EggTech filling that laboratory."

"Usin' his own technology against him," said Vector. "And it's a pretty good cover-up strategy."

The crocodile tapped the screen to go back to the list of files. "I guess we'll find more out about their sneaky plan in this one.'

He selected the second file, but no sooner had his claw touched the computer the entire screen fuzzed. Line after line of glitched code fired across it and he released the computer with a yelp of alarm. Espio snatched it out of the air and forced it to shut down, blinking out its holo-screen.

"Great," he muttered. "There's probably a tracking virus in it."

"Crafty nutjobs bugged the disk?!" Vector groaned and rubbed a hand down his snout. "Great, just as we were gettin' to the good stuff."

"Don't stress over it." Espio removed the disc and handed the computer back to Vector. "I'll try to recover your computer and clean out that file when we get to Pulse City. We'll find out exactly what they're up to. It won't be a wasted effort."

"I hope not. This contraption weren't cheap." Vector tucked his computer back into his pouch.

"So GUN is split." Espio returned to his seat, tossing the disk over his shoulder to be caught by Vector. "Who would have thought it. That rumour actually carried some weight behind it."

"Aye, you ain't kiddin'." Vector stared down at the tiny disk in his hand. "Man, what someone would pay for this. It's a shame we can't chance it, eh?"

"Pretty much." Espio fixed one golden eye on him. "So what's next?"

"If it turns out to be as bad as I'm fearin', I don't think we've got much choice," said Vector. "We find out where they're keepin' this guy and bust him out."

"Are you serious?" Espio gasped.

Charmy dropped his soda, and Vector leapt aside to dodge the fizzing melon-scented liquid. He pointed a claw towards the door.

"Mop!" he barked.

Charmy muttered an apology and buzzed from the room. The doors hissed open politely as he exited. Vector felt they wouldn't be so polite if any soda got into their wiring. He turned back to Espio and fell down into his seat.

"What choice have we got?" he continued. "If GUN actually manage to-"

"He's insane, Vector," said Espio. "We bust him out of his cell, who's to say he won't kill us?"

"And if GUN actually turn him into a weapon, who's to say they'll just stop at Eggman?"

Espio sighed into his hand. "You have a point. A living weapon with that strength could reduce Mainframe to ruin."

"We could end up with a bigger tyrant rulin' over us than Eggman," said Vector. "One command and their pet weapon could wipe us all out with one fell swoop."

The crocodile brought a fist down into his open hand and mimicked an explosion.

Espio visibly grimaced. "I just think we need to give this a lot of thought. Don't rush into anything. If we put a foot wrong, we could all end up dead."

Charmy froze behind them, mop clasped in both hands. "I really need to stop walking in on conversations like this…"

"It's just theoretical." Vector waved him off. "Don't get your antennae in a twist. If things go well, then… well… We might just save Mainframe."

"So we're gonna be heroes?" Charmy squeaked. "I thought we were space pirates. Criminals. Scourge of the skies."

"Yes, we're all those things," said Vector. "But sometimes we need to do the right thing."

"And the right thing is busting a dangerous mad man out of a high security prison?" Espio sighed again. "Well… like I said. We'll talk about it. Because I think it's insane."

"Would it be more insane to let GUN go ahead with it knowing full well what might happen?" Vector asked.

"I'm all for removing Eggman." Espio glanced over at him. "But leaving GUN with a weapon that powerful? The robots are bad enough." He sighed again and rubbed the base of his horn. "I can understand where you're coming from, Vector. I'm just not sure I want that maniac on our ship."

"He might appreciate us bustin' him out. Owe us a favour and all that jazz. The poor guy's been locked up for shy of sixty years!"

"I say we do our research first." Espio settled back into his seat and put his feet up on the control deck. "We'll try to recover that file. It might answer some questions. Then we make a decision."

"Can we do all that over a nice, hot sandwich?"

"If you're buying."

...

"Tracker's dead," said Decode.

Tsunami groaned into her hand and pushed herself back from her seat. The bush baby's white tail flicked side to side through the hole in his backrest as he worked at the navigation deck.

"I guess they finally found it," he said over his shoulder.

"I'm surprised they didn't find it sooner." Crash sat with his arms behind his head, and tilted back to smirk at Tsunami. "I take back what I said. Those guys are clearly dense."

"Don't make me shoot you," she joked.

Crash laughed and turned back to the control deck, not that he was using it to drive. Just as a glorified footrest as he watched their ship encroach on the tail of the Chaotix' neon-green ship. Its four wings stuck out like a star, lit up by the blue plasma flames from its rear.

"Just try not to lose track of them," Tsunami told her team-mates. "If we do, we'll have no idea where they're actually going."

"So far they're heading straight for Pulse City." Decode locked his pink eyes on hers briefly before turning back to his station. "With no tracker, if they hit a speed we can't match, then we'll lose them. As for now, they're within our ship's radar."

"A speed we can't match?" said Crash. "Well, unless they have some means of hitting hyper drive while they're still in Mainframe's atmosphere, I think we're fine."

"I wouldn't put it past them to try." Tsunami flopped back down in her seat and rubbed her wounded shoulder. "I've never seen so many tricks from one person before. I should look into getting my visor overlay fitted with a thermal scanner…"

"That might not be a bad idea," said Decode. "I'll look into it for you. It might be a pretty quick fix."

"No need. Chances are I'll find somewhere in Pulse City that can do it cheap," she said.

"There's a bigger chance it'll be massively inflated," said Decode. "But you'll get it quicker than if I tried."

"What exactly is the plan when we reach Pulse City?" asked Crash. "If we even do, that is. Ambush them? Because we don't know how many allies they have there, and we might get mobbed."

"Mobbed, but not killed," said Tsunami. "Space pirates know better than to kill a mercenary. It'll only increase the price on their heads, making them more vulnerable to bounty hunters than they already are."

"Yeah, yeah, I know all that." Crash waved her off. "But mobs are a thing."

"It's hard to say with their reputation." She toyed with the two gold rings in her left head scale as she watched the pirates' ship. "I get the impression they've got their fair share of enemies. They've screwed over other space pirates enough times to write a book about."

"I'd read it," said Decode.

"I say we stop them before they even reach Pulse City," said Tsunami. "Trap them in a tractor beam and force ourselves aboard their-"

The plasma tail flared and the Chaotix' ship surged forward. The pangolin swung forward in her seat as the shockwave flowed through them like an ocean's waves. When she looked back up, there was no sign of the Chaotix.

"-ship," she finished.

"Huh. Would you look at that," said Crash. "Hyperdrive in the atmosphere. You were right, Nami."

"It's almost as if they heard you," said Decode.

Tsunami balled her hands into fists and bared her canines at the spot the green ship had previously occupied. "Oh, when I get my hands on them…"

"They just left my radar," said Decode. "But they're making a beeline for Pulse City. I guess they just wanted to shake us off their tail."

Crash cocked an eyebrow at his twin. "What if it's just a red herring and they're trying to lose us?"

"Then we'll scour the entire of Mainframe to track them down," she said.

"That's my Nami."

Crash pushed the gear stick forward and their engine flared, rumbling through the very floor. Tsunami found herself pushed back into her seat as the ship surged forwards until it reached a steady pace. Not hyperdrive. That wasn't a risk any of them were willing to make inside Mainframe's atmosphere. Too many skyscrapers and low flying ships and planes.

"But our first port of call will be Pulse City," she said, smoothing back her long scales. "I have an inkling."

"You really think they're heading back there?"

"Fuel. A sale. Something." She tapped her lip with a finger.

She couldn't say for certain. There was every possibility the sneaky pirates were just trying to throw them off their scent. But there was no way she was going to lose her targets. Datastream didn't climb high into the mercenary ranks by losing.

She frowned out at the world ahead of them, watching the passing clouds periodically cover the ship in a foggy haze. Some still tinted neon-blue from the Chaotix' plasma trail. It was like bait as Datastream's ship pressed on, resembling a golden hawk as it pursued its prey across Mainframe's sapphire sky.

...

**Please R&R! =D I read all reviews and respond to them as best I can!**


	2. PW Chapter 2

**Thanks for all reads, reviews and follows! =D**

**I can't recall if I said this in the last chapter. But all characters in this story are adults unless stated otherwise.**

Chapter Two

Pulse City was an urban sprawl of towering buildings and animated billboards. In the dim evening light, the streets were lit up with neon lights from store fronts and adverts, glinting off the metal hulls of hundreds of prized ships that adorned the docks. Stars, birds, arrows, spherical chambers… if it had been thought of, it was likely parked in Pulse City's sky-docks.

The floating city drifted beneath the clouds, held up with technology that boggled the minds of many of those who walked upon it. Miles above the surface, space pirates had found a home safe from the dangers that awaited them on the ground. Yet it didn't stop mercenaries from frequenting Pulse City. Just like with space pirates, it offered the mercenaries a livelihood. Groups of them sat around outdoor cafe tables, or crammed into booths in the many bars, searching for their next job. Not necessarily taking out the space pirates they rubbed shoulders with. Many weren't even worth it. Unlike the Chaotix, many pirates only carried a small bounty. Mercenaries wouldn't even sniff at them. But they would pay handsomely for information should a pirate have it. Most mercenaries were hunting down gang criminals in the outskirts of Mainframe's capital, or in the badlands.

The Chaotix passed a couple of foxes, both sporting the single mercenary gold ring in their left ears - the opposite of the space pirates that surrounded them. Vector absently toyed with the gold ring on the right side of his headphones. Not sporting protruding ears, or a crest or antenna like his crew-mates, he'd had to attach it to his headphones instead. But his mind was on the small disk he carried in his belt pouch. More research was needed, but first… dinner. Dinner, then a drink, then he'd get stuck in tracking down information about GUN's secret criminal.

As he arrived at his chosen deli, the smell of steak and cheese washed over him. That was exactly what he wanted. Once his order was placed, he flopped down at a small table and pulled out his computer. Dead as a doornail. He was soon joined by Espio and Charmy, each carrying a soda. Espio placed one before Vector and he sipped on the straw absently.

"Can't wait, huh?" Espio nodded to his captain's computer.

Vector shrugged. "I just wanna get it over and done with. Thought I'd see how much information is lying around in the underground."

"Pass it here. You can borrow mine."

Vector thanked him and traded his computer for the chameleon's. Then he dived into the underbelly of the Chaos Network, scouring for every ounce of fact or rumour about Project Wreckingball. But it was nothing they didn't already know.

Vector frowned down at the mug-shot staring back at him. A sneering black and white jackal with a scar over his right eye. The only 'name' available was 'Prisoner I45724'. It made Vector wonder how many criminals they even had on record. The information that accompanied the photo was vague. 'Violent and insane. Alien to Mainframe. Powers unseen in this world. Suspected allegiance with Eggman.' Why, if GUN worked for Eggman, would that bother them? Unless it was hanging over the jackal since he arrived in Mainframe fifty-seven years ago, before everything changed. But once Eggman gained GUN's 'trust' twenty five years ago, surely the information would have changed? It just added more fuel to the fire that the rumours were true, and the information the Chaotix had stolen was more than enough to back that theory.

An otter shuffled over to them, carrying a tray in one hand. He set each plate before them, mixing up Espio's and Vector's. The smirk on his face said he knew full well what he'd done. But the crocodile merely sighed as he switched the plates around.

"Every time," he said as the otter left his earshot.

"I think he still has it in for you after that little stunt you pulled," said Espio.

"It was a joke."

Vector bit into his sandwich. A little heavy on the jalapenos. He took a swig of his drink, dodging the otter's eye as he glanced his way. Vector turned back to his computer, idly scrolling through the over-familiar information.

"Do you want me to start fixing your computer, or shall we wait until we get somewhere more private?" asked Espio with his mouth full.

"If you can from here," said Vector. "You might as well give it a shot. Charmy and I can keep an eye open."

Espio propped his captain's computer on his knee, just out of Vector's view. The chameleon wired it up to his visor, a means to keep whatever he was doing away from prying eyes.

"Make sure you don't break it," Vector warned him. "Otherwise it's comin' outta your paycheck."

"Hacking and espionage are my things," said Espio. "You just stick to being the muscle and stop fussing."

Charmy slurped loudly on his soda, drawing the chameleon's eye. "What's my thing?"

"Being a buzzing nuisance," said Vector.

Espio chuckled and winked at the bee, swiftly turning his pout into a grin.

As the crocodile demolished his sandwich, he gave another glance towards the otter waiter. He'd long since lost interest, too wrapped up with the dainty stoat leaning over the cash register to place her order. Vector wiped his muzzle on his sandwich wrapper and nudged Espio.

"How are you gettin' on? Any joy?"

The chameleon had finished his dinner and was sipping silently at his soda. He set the glass aside and unplugged his visor.

"I'm having a hard time getting access." He rubbed between his eyes. "They've unleashed something onto your computer that's thrown up a whole new set of frostwalls."

The crocodile tutted and rolled his eyes. "Flippin' charming. Givin' you brain freeze?"

"You could say that."

"Well, let's call it quits for now." Vector pushed himself from his seat. "'Cos I want a beer and I ain't orderin' it from this place. It's practically bath water."

"I'm not disagreeing with you there." Espio tucked away his computer and turned to Charmy. "How about a game of Assassin Strike?"

The bee almost squealed with delight. He shot from his seat and made a beeline for the door.

The two space pirates followed after him as Vector pocketed his computer. They stepped out onto the neon-flooded streets and wound their way along after Charmy. He kept above the heads of the pirate crowds, and a few of them threw leers in their direction. It wasn't a long walk to Scarlet Lounge. The pulsing music met them first, and Vector realised with deep regret that it was Club Night.

...

The Raptor pulled in at Pulse City's docks, squeezing between a black bullet of a ship and a small two-person runabout. At least, that's how it felt. Datastream's large ship dwarfed many of those that belonged to the space pirates and Decode even suggested tucking in her wings.

Tsunami hopped out onto the docks, followed closely by her allies. The spiral airlock closed tightly behind them, almost invisible in the side of the sparkling hull. A small group of space pirates fired a jeer in the mercenaries' direction and ducked aside, casting loathing glances over their shoulders. Tsunami blanked them, too occupied with her visor as she checked over a list of Pulse City locations. Anything that might key them into the Chaotix' whereabouts.

Black Market, Westward Diner, Scarlet Lounge, Tinker Tom's, Felicity's… although the latter was more of a mercenary hot-spot. They wouldn't go there, unless they were trying to hide under her nose. She lowered her hand, retracting her visor, and looked out at the bustling city. She'd have to ask. Who would be most likely to sell out a group of pirates to mercenaries? Preferably for free.

"Any joy?" Crash strolled behind her with his arms clasped behind his head.

"No," said Tsunami. "I think our best bet is to try a busy bar and tweeze information out of someone there."

"You gonna turn on the charm?" Decode grinned broadly.

"What charm?" Crash swiftly ducked a swipe from Tsunami's arm.

"I wasn't planning on it," she scoffed. "I was thinking someone would be more likely to sing like a canary with a beer or two in them."

"Bonus points if they hate the Chaotix," said Decode.

"That won't be hard."

They strolled past a huge neon ranking banner, and the pangolin glanced up at the top five 'most wanted'. The Chaotix grinned down at them from spot number three. Fifty thousand credits for the entire team.

"A lot of greedy pirates will be wanting that bounty," she went on. "And with no means to get it without risking their own lives, someone might resort to spite."

"And if not?" Crash gave her a sly sideways smile, which his sister returned.

"Gunpoint," she said.

"Things could get fun," he said.

Tsunami shrugged and followed him around a tight bend. "To be honest, I'd rather have a peaceful solution given the odds aren't exactly in our favour here."

"And I just want to play some games," said Decode. "I could use a break."

"Knock yourself out."

Posters spread out over a boarded-up storefront. Concerts and game releases, a few of which were out of date, along with a wanted poster for a black hedgehog. Wanted by GUN 'for reasons of scientific interest'. Tsunami didn't question it. GUN didn't often offer jobs to space pirates unless they were desperate, or trying to bait them. Given she hadn't heard of it herself, it was likely the latter. Get a wanted fugitive and toast some desperate pirates while they were at it.

Deep pulsing music reverberated from a wide bar front and the team paused a few feet from it. A huge red archway flooded with strobing neon lights, and the name 'Scarlet Lounge' was scrawled above it in an elegant curving font. A font that didn't suit the music pouring from it at all. Groups of people milled about it, clutching glasses as they exchanged banter or arguments. Beyond it, a small green rabbit danced out of sync to the music, spilling pink liquor from her shallow cocktail glass.

"You wanted somewhere busy," said Crash.

They exchanged glances and shrugged, then made their way into the bar. Very few people glanced their way, and those that did just turned to move elsewhere. Too involved in their own recreation to care about three small mercenaries. Tsunami scanned over the colourful mob as she made her way towards the bar. They definitely weren't the only mercenaries. A group of cats sat in one booth, each one with a silver ring in his left ear. Their boss was probably somewhere else. Maybe making a deal or lurking at the bar. Not far from them, a group of space pirates sat gambling, surrounded by empty glasses and bottles. One of them, a purple weasel, appeared to be losing. Badly. Especially if the pair of grinning skunks were anything to go by. If she guessed right, the massive polar bear beside him would likely suffer the same fate. He leant one arm on the back of an unconscious woodpecker, sprawled across the table with his beak buried in a plate of peanuts.

Tsunami shook her head. Grumpy space pirates was not the way to go. Neither was a pair of possibly cheating winners. She paused at the bar, searching along it for someone who might be willing to give them some information. Preferably a bit on the dozy side. Decode clambered up onto one of the stools, sandwiched between her and Crash, and pulled out his pocket computer. The bush baby was either oblivious to the pirates, or completely unfazed by their presence. Given his small, slender form they could probably snap him in two with little effort.

A green sparrow paced up and down behind the bar as she served her customers. Tsunami leant on it, trying to get her attention, but her voice was drowned out by the music. Beyond the sparrow, two more bartenders worked away, snowed under by the demanding space pirates. Tsunami followed Crash's finger to the speaker directly above her head and tutted. What a silly place to put a speaker. She turned to move further down the bar, but a shout drew her eye to the gambling pirates. The table lay at an angle with cards, glass and dice everywhere. The polar bear sat with his arms folded tightly across his chest, his lip stuck out in a pout. Beside him, the weasel sat blinking, soaked from ear to tail in frothy beer. The larger of the skunks stooped to right the table, while the smaller one stepped backwards over the dazed woodpecker, now lying spread-eagled on the floor in a puddle of peanuts.

The small bird raised a finger. "I didn't like that ride. Do-over?"

"You cheating scum!" barked the weasel. "Those dice were loaded and you know it!"

"Hey, we won fair and square!" said the skunk. "You coulda backed out at any point!"

The weasel flicked froth from his snout and flashed a fang. "We'll get you back for this, Rough. I'll have that tail of yours as a scarf!"

The dark coloured skunk laughed and waved him off, while his larger cream friend glanced back at his stump of a tail. Clearly the weasel had hit a sore spot. Tsunami didn't see what happened next as the loud skunk stopped at her side to lean across the bar.

"Yo, barkeep!"

He waved a hand to draw her attention then froze as his eye went to Tsunami. A grin spread across his face and he chuckled, leaning an elbow on the bar.

"Well, well." He looked her up and down and his grin widened. "How about I buy you a drink, too, sweetheart?"

Crash stepped up behind her her and balled his hands into fists, glaring the skunk down, but the pirate didn't seem to notice him.

Tsunami turned so she was fully facing the skunk, her expression stoic. His yellow and red eyes widened as he spotted the two rings in her left plate, then he laughed and turned back to the barkeep.

"A merc, eh?" he said. "All right! I'm definitely buyin'."

Well, he seemed keen. Probably foolishly so. She scanned him over. Small, yet probably physically stronger than she was. Gold ring in his right ear meant he was his ship's captain, so other members of his crew might have his back if things turned ugly. She'd have to avoid that.

Tsunami cocked an eyebrow and edged closer to him.

"I'll let you buy me a drink in exchange for a chat?" she suggested.

He stared at her blankly for a moment then glanced up at the speaker above them. It was as if the place didn't expect their patrons to actually want to talk. He nodded for her to follow him further down the bar, and she made to follow, but Crash placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hang on, sis-"

She cut him off. "Just watch my back. I've got this."

The darker pangolin nodded and settled down next to Decode, but she felt him watching her as she followed after the space pirate. Ready to spring across the bar and pummel him into the ground if he had to. It was a little less crowded the further they moved away from the door, and Tsunami found herself sandwiched between the skunk and a large panda who looked about to topple off his perch. She gave the massive space pirate a wary glance and turned her back on him.

"I said you can buy me a drink in exchange for a chat."

The music still drowned her out, but the skunk heard her this time. A sly smirk tugged at his lips and he waved down a wolf behind the bar.

"Want information, eh?" The skunk shrugged. "Dunno about that. Depends what you're after."

She looked back at the panda, but he seemed oblivious to them. His eyes were shut and his head nodded a couple of times against his hand, threatening to smash down onto his half-full glass. When she turned back to the skunk, he'd already got the attention of the grey wolf.

He looked up from the bartender to catch her eye. "What's your poison?"

She turned to the wolf. "Half a cider."

The bartender didn't even bat an eyelid, immediately reaching for a small glass.

"Just a half?" The skunk raised an eyebrow. "You're easy to please."

"I don't intend to stick around," she said. "It's Rough, right?"

He started slightly and she thought he was about to run away from her.

"Don't get into a panic," she scoffed. "I overheard your squabbling with that weasel earlier."

He let out a small sigh and smoothed his mohawk back. "Well you won't get much from me. I just deal in small explosives. Blowin' up safes, that kinda jazz."

It didn't exactly sound like something GUN would turn their noses up at. But she had no interest in turning his stripy tail in if he could actually point her towards the Chaotix.

The bartender pushed their drinks towards them and Rough pulled out his computer. He tapped something into it then the panel by the bartender flashed. So he actually had paid. The computer vanished as quickly as it had appeared and he grabbed his drink. Black with a white froth. Somehow it suited him.

"So… what am I meant to call you?" he asked.

"Nami," she said flatly.

"Rings a faint bell."

"I'm the captain of Team Datastream," she said.

He almost choked on his drink then laughed, wiping his muzzle on the back of his hand.

"Wow, did I reel in a big fish," he said.

"You reeled in nothing," she told him. "You're a convenient source of information, and I'm hoping I don't need to draw my gun."

He moved close enough that his fur brushed her arm, sending a tingle down her spine. She fought the urge to leap aside like a kitten off a hot plate.

"Little hint," he said. "You might wanna talk in a less crowded environment."

Her mind went to her brother waiting at the far end of the bar. "I'd much rather not."

"Then it's your funeral, love." He took a swig of his drink. "Literally."

She stared at him for a moment as she swished her tail back and forth. Then an idea sparked in her mind. She whipped out her computer and tapped a few words into it. Just enough to make it clear what exactly she wanted from him. She turned it so he could read it and a smirk crossed his face.

"That's all you want, eh?"

He nodded towards a door at the back of the bar. Red and white. 'Private Booths and Restaurant' was written above it, in that same curly font. Was that where the Chaotix were? Or was he hinting at that being the right place to chat? There was a playful look in his eye. One that said his answer was meant to be ambiguous. She gave a sigh of defeat and tucked her computer away.

"So you're willing to talk?" she asked.

"If you can afford it."

She met the skunk's eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "What's your price?"

"You eaten yet?"

"Are you offering?"

He smirked over his glass. "That would be the more gentlemanly thing to do, wouldn't it? But… you're the one wantin' information. Not me."

She tightened her jaw and clutched her glass as she warred with her decision. Go with this sleezeball of a skunk or find some other source of information? Given it was looking likely that he'd actually tell her what she needed to know, it seemed a waste to throw the chance away.

"Tell ya what," he said. "You just get the booth and I'll do the rest. It would actually be easier if you liked me."

"I don't like you," she said bluntly.

He merely grinned, flashing his sharp canines. "Then it's a good thing I've got a whole dinner to change your mind."

He pushed himself back from the bar, and Tsunami glanced over her shoulder to catch Crash's eye. The male pangolin watched her as she followed Rough to the private booths. Crash gave an understanding nod and masked it by pretending he was talking to Decode. The other larger skunk, however, watched her with avid curiosity. He wasn't about to join in and cause her trouble, was he? Her brother noticed her concern and waved her on.

A badger stood behind a little counter beside the door and he cocked an eyebrow when he spotted Tsunami and her 'date'. But if he'd jumped to conclusions he didn't say anything. Instead he brought up something on his holoscreen that to her was backwards.

"Lookin' for a booth?" he asked. "It'll be thirty credits."

Seriously? Tsunami muttered something under her breath as she paid the waiter. Satisfied, he led them into the room and the doors closed behind them, completely silencing the club music. Tsunami's ears rang in the aftermath and she resisted the urge to reach under her scales to rub them.

A row of red, white and glass booths spread out on her right, while a red and white wall took up her left. Row after row, she guessed. Not facing each other so as to maintain some level of privacy. Yet she could see through the glass clearly. One booth only held one pirate, sat back with his eyes closed and a wire linked up to his visor. Probably diving into the Chaos Network or enjoying some virtual reality program. The Chaos Network spread all across Mainframe with no way to block it, allowing people to tap into it anywhere at anytime. But aside from the convenience of instant access through a computer or headset, some liked to go all in with their minds. Video games, movies… hacking databases. The latter always needed a wire and a computer.

Tsunami jolted as they passed the third booth. The Chaotix sat huddled around a table and a small handheld holoscreen, oblivious to her presence. Perfect. She'd be keeping an eye on them. She considered letting Crash and Decode know, but didn't want the waiter catching wind of her targets.

The badger came to a stop two booths down from the Chaotix and pulled the glass door open, allowing Tsunami and Rough inside. The waiter opened his mouth to speak but Rough cut him off with a wave.

"I know the drill," said the space pirate.

The waiter nodded and closed the door, leaving Tsunami alone with the grinning skunk.

"Peace at last." He flopped into the sofa and kicked his feet up onto the table. He pulled out his computer and quickly tapped at it.

"What are you doing?" Tsunami asked.

"Lettin' my brother know where I am. He worries."

Her eyes widened as she thought back to that cream skunk. "That big guy is your brother? You look nothing alike."

"Aye, we're twins."

She wasn't entirely sure if he was joking. He tucked his computer back and leant against the sofa. He tried to coax her next to him but she blanked him, instead eyeing the glass walls. She deliberately chose a spot at the opposite end, leaving a fairly large gap between them. Then she peered out to her left, spotting the captain's large green head and oversized headphones.

"It doesn't seem very private," she said.

Rough shrugged. "Sound proof, no one starin' across at you. The glass is just a safety measure. Totally shatterproof and no one gets murdered."

A chill ran down her spine at that, but it wasn't all that surprising. "Crash, can you hear me?"

'Loud and clear, sis.' The headset did a fantastic job of filtering out the racket from the bar.

Rough cocked an eyebrow at her and his muzzle creased. Tsunami chose to ignore it.

"I've found the Chaotix," she said. "You and the squirt keep an eye open in case they leave before I do."

'Roger!'

She also caught a scoff from Decode at her chosen pet-name for him.

"You wanna switch that off, love?" said Rough. "I'm not sure I'm happy with your friends overhearin' everythin'."

She frowned at the skunk then sighed. "Fine. I'll put it in standby."

'Wait… sis!-'

She flicked the switch, cutting her own voice off from her allies. "Happy? I can still hear them, but they can't hear me unless I push a button or use a codeword."

"That'll do I guess." Rough shrugged and leant towards the digital menu on the table. "I'll order us somethin' then, eh?"

"Don't I get a say in it?" Tsunami tried to mask a growl and failed.

Rough laughed and flicked his tail up onto the seat. "That would ruin the surprise!"

"I didn't agree to any surprise." She eyed his thick tail much too close for comfort. "Please keep that on your end of the sofa?"

He grinned at her. "Why? Allergic? It's not like I'm gonna spray ya."

She tutted and sipped her cider, scooting as close to the arm of the sofa as it would allow. It wasn't being sprayed that was her concern. She was beginning to wonder if she should have scouted out a significantly less fluffy target to pump information out of.

"There." He sat back, flicking his tail to his other side, and tucked his hands behind his head. "That should pass some time until your targets leave their booth."

"What did you order? A five course meal?" She glanced over at the Chaotix. Still non-the-wiser.

"They often come in here," said Rough. "Never seen them leave, actually, and I'm a night-owl."

"Well that's not reassuring." She eyed the smirking pirate. "So if you knew they were in here, then why did you join me? What do you want to get out of this? Because I'm not paying you."

"You kinda are. You wanted information, I wanted your company. This way, we're both happy."

"You might be happy but you're risking your skin."

"Aww, you worried about me?" He chuckled and struck the table. "Don't be. I can handle myself."

Maybe he could, but that didn't change anything. Space pirates would go far enough to kill another if they suspected they were working with a mercenary. Space pirates weren't entitled to the bounties their kind racked up. That meant ordinarily they'd be safe from being turned in by their own kind. But it didn't mean none of them ever tried, siding with a mercenary with hopes they'd get a share of the bounty. Whether or not he was after the Chaotix' reward, he was still taking a massive risk. She tried to tune out the onset of guilt and flicked over the virtual menu as a distraction.

The glass door opened as a feline waitress stepped in. Her huge yellow eyes went impossibly wide when she spotted the pair and she practically bounced with glee. She silently set a massive sundae on the table and scampered back out, plunging them back into silence. Tsunami stared after her retreating tail. What was with the sudden excitement? She slowly realised she'd grabbed her laser in its holster and released it, placing her hand back on the table.

"She fancies me." Rough licked ice cream off one of the long spoons. "Don't worry, though. There's no contest."

"So you have your fair share of fans?" Tsunami asked slowly.

He shrugged and handed her the other spoon. A playful grin tugged at his mouth, chilling her slightly.

"Wanna play a game?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "What kind of game?"

"Oh, just a bit of fun." He glanced over her shoulder at the Chaotix. "Like I said… we could be here a while."

She let out a small sigh and shifted to face him. "Go on. What is it? Poker? Farkle?"

He tapped the edge of the sundae with his spoon. "Race to the hot fudge."

"What?"

"First one to the last layer wins," he said. "No cheatin' though. You can't just stick your spoon right to the bottom. Where's the fun in that? And if you win, I pay you back for the booth."

The smirk on his face said there was a catch. She frowned back at him, meeting his eyes.

"And if you win?" she asked.

"You give me a kiss."

Her spine stiffened and she stared at the sundae. It felt less like a game and more like she was signing a death warrant. If not hers then his.

"You're insane," she said.

"Hey, stakes ain't that high," he said. "You always run the chance of gettin' your thirty credits back."

"All right. And how do I know you won't cheat?"

"I'm a man of my word! I made the rules, I ain't gonna break 'em, love." He flashed her a boyish grin. "So whatd'ya say?"

She glanced back at the Chaotix and gave a defeated sigh. "Oh whatever. I'm not doing anything else."

He closed his eyes and laughed. "Great. This should be a laugh."

"I'd hardly call it a laugh," she scoffed. "But if we're doing this we're swapping places. I'm not missing my prey."

"What, you don't trust me? I can see 'em fine."

"I don't trust you as far as I could throw you." She slipped from her seat and shooed him along.

Much better. She could see that croc clearly over Rough's head.

"Want me to count down?" Rough asked.

She glanced down at him and waved her spoon. "Just start."

She scooped as much ice cream as the spoon would allow and shoveled it into her mouth. Vanilla. Rather good for Pulse City, actually. Another followed suit, but her enjoyment was interrupted by Crash's voice in her ear.

'Nami, that big cream skunk is lurking outside the private booths.'

Really? She frowned into the glass as she helped herself to another spoonful. Did she actually question this? It was probably completely innocent.

"What's your brother doing lurking outside?" she asked.

Rough looked over his shoulder at the empty hallway and she took the opportunity to tip the scales more in her favour by swiftly taking two more spoonfuls of ice cream. Satisfied, he turned back to his 'game'.

"Waitin' for me probably," he said. "I told you, he worries."

She shrugged it off as her eye was drawn back to the Chaotix. The crocodile shifted, then rose. A young bee buzzed into the air, and the pair turned to the door. She dropped her spoon with a clatter to the table and leapt from her seat.

"Datastream, they're heading out."

'Roger!' came Crash and Decode's joint reply.

She turned back to Rough to thank him for the ice cream to meet a playful grin. He licked hot fudge from his spoon and she looked down at the dessert, now completely demolished on his side. No sign he'd cheated.

"Pay up, love," he said.

She groaned and pinched her muzzle. Then motioned for him to stand. He practically skipped to his feet and she grabbed his right ear by the ring. That way, he couldn't turn his head. She placed a kiss on his cheek then took a step back, smirking at his frown.

"You never said where," she said.

He rolled his eyes then laughed. "Fair play, Nami."

She pushed the booth door open then switched her headset back on. The Chaotix were well ahead of her, vanishing through the door. She spotted the cream skunk as he stepped aside to let them past.

"They're coming your way," she said quietly.

'We're already on it,' said Crash. 'If we need to, we'll catch them outside. It's too busy and loud in here.'

She zipped after the retreating space pirates, casting the skunk a wary glance. But he did nothing to impede her. He looked over her shoulder and his eyes brightened when he spotted Rough on her tail. Well, at least the sleezeball had been honest. She almost lost the Chaotix in the crowd as they vanished beyond a group of loud and rowdy mercenaries. She squeezed past them, spotting Vector's tall green form as he slipped through the door onto the street. They hadn't even spotted Crash as he snuck out after them with Decode.

'They won't go down without a fight,' Crash said quietly. 'And we don't want to make a scene. Decode and I have been thinking this over and we have a plan.'

He relayed it to her as she casually followed the Chaotix out onto the neon-lit street. Crash was waiting in the doorway, eyes trained on the space pirates as they rapidly headed back down it towards the docks. He motioned for her to follow him and she fell in step beside Decode, too busy with his computer to take in his surroundings. She glanced back over her shoulder. Rough's large brother almost blocked the doorway, crimson eyes trained on her. Great. It was beginning to smell like trouble.

The docks opened up before them, now sparse of space pirates. The odd handful lurked about their ships, or made their way to the wide street in pursuit of a bar. Crash picked up pace, keeping his footsteps light. Then he leapt, stretching out his hand towards the smallest of the Chaotix. The bee glanced back and squealed, but he didn't get away. Crash snatched him by his stinger and tugged him into his powerful arms. Tsunami stopped beside him, aiming her laser at the bee's head. Her other hand reached into her pouch for two sets of hand cuffs.

The other two pirates twisted on the spot, eyes wide and frantic as they went from the young boy to the laser to the mercenaries and back.

"All right," she said. "Return what you stole, then make your way to our ship. You put a foot wrong, he's dead."

"I don't wanna die!" the bee screamed. "I don't wanna die! Help me!"

He kicked his legs so frantically Crash had to secure his grip.

"Let him go," growled the crocodile. "He's just a kid!"

Tsunami clenched her jaw but she didn't lower her gun. Killing children wasn't exactly something she agreed to, and she didn't really intend to harm the kid. But surely the Chaotix wouldn't just abandon him to his demise?

"Return what you stole then step into our brig," she said. "If you do that, we won't harm him."

The bee sobbed loudly, dropping large tears onto Crash's bare arms.

The crocodile grimaced and his eye darted over Crash's shoulder. His grimace worsened and he nudged his chameleon friend.

"Somehow I don't think they've got our backs," said the chameleon.

Tsunami narrowed her eyes at the space pirates. "Let me guess. A pair of skunks?"

The crocodile grinned and nodded behind her. "Why don't you look back and see for yourself?"

A trick. She wasn't falling for that. "Decode?"

"Camera says yes," said the bush baby.

"Feed it to me."

Her visor flashed to life, giving her a clear image of Rough and his huge brother standing in the mouth of the wide street. Not far from them at all. A short run if they should decide to ambush. She wasn't even entirely sure they were on her side, let alone the Chaotix'. She needed to work fast.

She adjusted her gun, making sure they heard the click as she released the safety. The bee screwed his eyes shut and silent tears flowed down his cheeks.

"I'm not going to ask again," she said.

"All right!" The crocodile reached into his pouch and pulled out a small, square disk. "We'll return it! But you turn us in, no one is gonna stop whatever it is GUN's up to. You hear me? Mainframe as you know it will be gone!"

Tsunami stared back at him, ignoring his outstretched hand. Decode, however, snatched the disk and pocketed it. Tsunami's blue eyes widened, meeting the large space pirate's.

"You've heard the rumours too, right?" he went on. "What's on that disk confirms 'em, and more. You lock us up, who's gonna stop 'em? Return that disk and no one will even be prepared for the onslaught!"

"Onslaught?" Crash scoffed. "They're just rumours."

"I just said that disk confirms 'em!" The crocodile folded his arms. "But you've got us. Right? I can't exactly let you kill Charmy. He's only twelve. Let him go at least."

"A pirate is a pirate," said Tsunami. "But he'll be offered a smaller sentence."

"Yeah, and ours will be death," said the chameleon.

The bee let out a whimper and struggled again in Crash's grip. The larger pangolin caught Tsunami's eye, but not fully. Half her attention was on the approaching skunk duo. The smaller one moving with a bit of a swagger in his step.

"I think things are about to get ugly," said the chameleon. "Look… how about we make a deal with you. We'll go back to your ship, in cuffs if you don't trust us. You let Charmy go, and we'll show you what's on that disk. Everything. Then you can make a decision about whether or not you think it's worth your while turning us in."

"Fifty thousand credits is worth my while," said Tsunami.

"Worth mine n'all," said the crocodile. "But at the expense of our home? I don't think so."

"You're making it sound like GUN wants to destroy Mainframe," said Crash. "I find that very hard to believe."

"I've been following those rumours," said Decode. "I thought it was all fear-mongering and conspiracy, but if they claim to have confirmed it-"

"It could be a trap," said Tsunami.

"You think I'm gonna risk my hide for a trap?" scoffed the crocodile. "What else would I have been in that lab for, eh? It's a weapons lab! We don't even trade in weapons!"

"No, you trade in information." Tsunami jolted and stared at the crocodile. "You were planning on selling out confirmation on a rumour?"

"It crossed my mind," he said. "But I'm more interested on stopping GUN going ahead with what they are calling Project Wreckingball."

"Interesting." The voice came from behind them.

Tsunami stared at the pair of skunks through her visor, keeping her back on them. It wasn't a disadvantage. One swipe of her tail and she could chop them up like kindling. Or give them a heavy thrashing.

"I hadn't given that rumour much thought," said Rough. "But if it's true…"

He chuckled and Tsunami thought she saw him reaching for a weapon. Instead, a pair of blades fired out of the spiked cuffs around his wrists. The Chaotix drew their own weapons, and the chameleon began to vanish before her eyes. She tutted and berated herself for not making her first stop the tinkerer's.

"I don't know who you are," said the crocodile, "but I ain't in the mood right now to put up with any trash from you."

"I'm Rough and this is Tumble," said the skunk. "Spill the beans or you're gonna crumble."

Tsunami rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

She rounded on the skunk pair, aiming her gun at the smaller one. Crash was already behind the larger guy, turning him away from the Chaotix.

Rough flashed her a grin. "I ain't got no gripes with you, sweetheart. I'm after-"

She fired her laser at his feet and he leapt back with a squeak.

"I've got gripes with you if you're gonna interfere with my work," she growled.

Crash leapt behind the smaller skunk, drawing Tumble after him. He quickly nodded to his sister and she stepped aside, letting him deal with Rough. It didn't take long. Before he'd even worked out what was going on, Crash grabbed his shoulder in one hand. Rough crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll.

Tumble's jaw dropped and he fixed his livid eyes on the pangolin twins. He threw a punch, which Crash ducked fluidly. Using her tail, Tsunami vaulted over Tumble's head and struck him in the shoulder, striking the pressure point. Like his brother, he slumped to the floor unconscious.

The Chaotix stood blinking at them, and the chameleon lowered his shuriken.

"That were… insane," said the crocodile.

The purple reptile nodded. "Even I struggled to follow that."

The crocodile shook his head and sighed. "We got a deal or not?"

Datastream exchanged glances, then Crash tucked his hands behind his head. They'd reached the same conclusion. Something was amiss, and they'd be foolish to toss it aside. If the rumours were indeed true…

"Okay." Tsunami glared up at the crocodile and holstered her weapon. "Once we reach our ship, you have ten minutes to change our minds. Fail, and you're all gonna be turned in."

The captain laughed and turned to follow Datastream towards The Raptor. "Oh, I doubt we'll fail, merc."

...

A dark fog filled Rough's head and he groaned as he pushed himself up. He almost bumped snouts with Tumble and waved the larger skunk aside.

"What happened to us?" Rough croaked.

"It were them mercs," said Tumble. "Took us both out."

"So they just knocked us out? Just like that?"

"Yup." Tumble tugged his brother to his feet. "Know what we should do? We should pound 'em."

"I dunno…" Rough scratched his mohawk and searched the docks. No sign of the mercenaries or the Chaotix. "It made that Nami girl a whole lot hotter."

"Seriously?" Tumble scoffed. "This doesn't make you wanna give up on her?"

Rough shrugged his shoulders. "She can put up a fight. I like that. Let's go after 'em."

"I dunno, bro. I don't really like rom-coms." Tumble paused and scratched his chin. "But I do like comedies. All right, what the heck. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed watchin' you strike out. Last time were with that nurse."

Rough's muzzle creased in a snarl. "We don't talk about that!"

"You don't. I tell everyone I meet."

The smaller skunk muttered under his breath and retracted his cuff blades. "Let's just get to our ship and tail 'em."

"Do you even know what their ship looks like?"

"It's either the Chaotix green star thing, or somethin' else." Rough paused, catching the glint of a golden hull five ships down from his own. "I'm gonna guess it's that one."

"What makes you say that?" Tumble asked.

"Simple." Rough grinned up at him and winked. "No pirate or run-of-the-mill merc can afford a ship like that, bro."

"Well, if you're sure." Tumble gave his brother a thump on the back. "Let's just hope they don't turn our ship into scrap metal. Things you do to chase a pretty tail."

"I'll win her. You watch."

"Oh I'll watch," said Tumble. "And I'll laugh."

...

**Review Replies:**

**Awesome Know It All - Thanks for your review! =D I'm glad you're enjoying. The Chaotix are a lot of fun to write. I love them XD**

**Thanks everyone! As always, please R&R! =D**


	3. PW Chapter 3

**A/N - Sometimes I really want to update this story more frequently. But... then I'd probably burn out my buffer. **

**You can find the illustration that ties in with this chapter on my Tumblr, 'deliriousabsol' (Del's Mad World).**

Chapter Three

Tsunami leant back against the control deck, arms folded, as Vector fumbled with his computer. The holoscreen displayed everything backwards, but she wasn't in the mood to try and read it. Having space pirates anywhere on her ship besides the brig was never something she expected or wanted. But something about what he'd said unsettled her, and she wanted to alleviate her concerns. Or turn a blind, blissful eye.

The Chaotix had expressed their appreciation at The Raptor's size and technology, and after a brief introduction to 'remove some tension' they'd made no efforts to go back on their offer to show them what was on the disk. And given Vector was willing to use his computer, Tsunami could rest assured they weren't about to cripple her ship by plugging it into its systems.

Charmy had swiftly recovered, occupying himself at Datastream's navigation deck. Not that it was switched on, given the ship wasn't going anywhere. But that didn't stop him from fawning over its intricate controls and asking Decode half-a-million questions.

A small silver chao-android flew into the room, balancing a tea tray over its head. It paused before Tsunami and grinned.

"Here's your tea!" it chirruped.

"Thanks, Omochao." Tsunami took one of the mugs and left the android to deliver tea to the rest of her over-filled bridge.

Vector blinked at the tiny android. "You have one of them pricey Omochao and didn't even name it?"

"'Him'," Tsunami corrected. "And no. Why would I? He's perfectly happy just being called 'Omochao'."

"I wanted to call him Butters, but no," Decode muttered.

Omochao beamed at his satisfied patrons and fluttered from the room, humming to himself.

Espio stared after him, aghast. "Isn't it a little dangerous to let him handle liquids like that? I mean… he's a robot."

Tsunami didn't look up from her tea. "He wants to be a butler. Let him."

"Oh whatever. Here you go." Vector held out his computer to Tsunami. "If this don't change your mind about this GUN business, I don't know what will."

She took it and Crash and Decode appeared over each of her shoulders. The bush baby had to perch himself on the control deck to get a clear view. Being a faster reader than she was, he often tapped his foot against the deck as he waited, leaving her with no choice but to clamp it in place with her heavy tail. Much to his muttering.

What she read left a bad taste in her mouth. It confirmed the rumours and then some.

GUN were indeed confining the jackal who had appeared in Mainframe fifty seven years ago, along with Eggman. When a mysterious explosion had torn through the very fabrics of space, it had dragged three aliens with it. Eggman, a robot hedgehog, and a jackal many believed was going to actually die. But GUN took him in and he recovered alarmingly quickly. No reasons were given for this, but the report had it down to some strange alien DNA they were calling 'Dark Arms'. It gave him shocking regeneration properties, and somehow prevented him from ageing. Add this to the strange illusory power he already brought with him and the very Chaos Network running through him, he proved to be too much of an alien threat to let loose in Mainframe. He'd shown hostility to the doctors and scientists who had tried to help - fearfully - and that had left him locked up in their cells for 'questioning'. If he was a threat, then surely Eggman would be? That had proven true when Eggman took over a majority of GUN and established himself as the ruler of Mainframe. Although very little was heard from the mad doctor. It had been simple enough for him to take over. The explosion had caused an epidemic, which had many victims and casualties. The virus was coming from the rupture left in the remains of the damaged city, something that had been dubbed Null Space. Eggman created a barrier that held the virus back, and the symptoms along with any traces of it beyond the barrier vanished. He was named a hero and eventually became leader of GUN and Mainframe as a whole. Something Mainframe soon regretted. Eggman worked through his GUN soldiers, robots and quarterly motivational speeches. Riots had been a common thing long before Tsunami's time, and news had it that those fires were put out often with real fires and the appearance of Eggman's ace robot Metal Sonic. People soon learned not to retaliate against Doctor Eggman, or GUN for that matter.

As for the jackal, the GUN information elaborated greatly the more she read it. To stop him from using his powers on them, they'd had to craft a detainment collar. One that was often used for criminals who could easily overpower GUN. It wasn't unheard of for people in mainframe to have unusual skills. Fire manipulation, sonic speed, psychokinesis, or an unusual amount of physical strength. Detainment collars prevented one from using them, sapping their energy. But this one had to be modified just to stop the jackal's strange illusions and teleporting. He didn't appear to have much of a grasp over them and they could be broken easily if he lost his focus. Once the collar was in place, he'd been pumped for information, but it had proved fruitless. He refused to tell GUN's FBI agents anything. Probably because he didn't know why both he and Eggman suddenly appeared in Mainframe. And it had taken the FBI upward of twenty years to finally give up torturing him over it. That part turned Tsunami's stomach. After all that, he'd just been left. Kept alive locked in a secure enclosure. He'd gone insane, or always had been, and they didn't want to kill him. They wanted him alive. They had plans, and those plans soon evolved into something called Project Wreckingball. His powers had left them curious, but it was too dangerous to have him act them out before them. He'd turn on them, and it would take an army to stop him, force his collar back on and toss him back into his cell.

The main scientist behind Project Wreckingball had stepped down, taken over by one who signed off the reports as 'G'. The scientist 'G' had a different way of handling the jackal. It was clear from the way they spoke about him their relationship was somewhat shaky. They'd opted to keep him muzzled to prevent him from biting them after several experimental mishaps. Given he couldn't do anything else to defend himself, it had been his last line of defence. 'G' now oversaw the project as scientists slaved away to create something more potent than a detainment collar. It was some kind of harness that allowed the wearer's handler complete control through simple commands. The wearer would be as harmless as a butterfly until told otherwise. It was a foolproof means to control something with the jackal's power, allowing GUN to use his abilities for their own gain. However, its primary goal seemed to have been altered slightly, leaving a vague sense of unease. Primarily a means to remove both Eggman and the jackal from Mainframe, what would happen to him now was uncertain. Would he no longer be sent back to his own world? Did GUN plan on actually keeping him?

Tsunami lowered the computer, which was snatched up by Decode for a second speedy read. Well, she could definitely see why the Chaotix were concerned. She met Vector's eyes and he shrugged.

"Worryin', huh?" he said.

Tsunami cradled her teacup. "As much as I agree with you, I can't see what you expect to do about it. Short of killing the poor guy, who, from what I gather, hasn't even done anything to deserve all this."

"He just appeared in our world one day, half dead," said Espio. "GUN's treatment of him is nothing short of horrific."

"Can you imagine not ageing or being able to die naturally?" said Vector. "Spending an eternity locked in some kind of control harness, bowing at someone's command. No will of your own, no life… not that he's had much of a life locked up in their cells for almost six decades."

"I agree it's cruel," said Tsunami. "But we can't do anything, and I doubt GUN will listen."

"You're wrong," said Vector. "We can do somethin' and I plan to."

"And what's that?" asked Crash. "Leak this information onto every known website in the Chaos Network? Email it to every single inhabitant in Mainframe? I'm sure GUN would just love that. They'd mount your heads on their walls."

"That's a genius idea," Decode scoffed. "'Everyone would know and GUN would crumble.' They'd cover it up like they always do."

"I wasn't saying 'do it'," said Crash.

Decode waved a hand at the Chaotix. "I was aiming it at them."

"That ain't our plan," said Vector. "It'd fail, like your small primate friend insinuated. My plan is to break into those cells and bust him out. Give him a new life with his own choices."

Tsunami's jaw went slack and Decode dropped Vector's computer. The crocodile grimaced and stooped to retrieve it from the apologetic hacker. Fortunately it hadn't cracked.

"Are you crazy?!" Tsunami snapped. "Even if you did manage to get past GUN's security, who's to say that jackal won't kill you? He's insane! And we don't even know what he's capable of save for what they've included in this project report!"

"Well I think he might appreciate some freedom," said Vector. "I know I would after all that time. He might even be happy to help us get rid of Eggman."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes into slits. It took every ounce of willpower not to toss her scalding hot tea over the reptile. "So it's a plan with a hidden motive?"

"You can't deny you want him out of our world too, merc."

The pangolin twins exchanged glances and Tsunami sighed, waving the space pirates off.

"I've heard enough," she said. "You're completely nuts. I've every right mind to turn you in for your own safety, never mind my career."

"I dunno." Decode had his nose in his computer as he typed away. "I think their plan carries some weight."

Tsunami rounded on him. "You're on their side? And what are you doing?"

"Typing everything up so we don't lose it." He glanced up at her briefly. "Let's face it. If GUN plan to use this guy after removing Eggman they could do anything. The notes described him as bullet-proof. He resists lasers. He can use his power to affect multiple targets. Even create solid illusory clones of himself, or others. Once he gets full control of his powers, he'd be a one-man army. They could use him to wipe out entire cities. Even the whole of Mainframe if they wanted to."

"I don't understand why they'd want to," said Tsunami. "GUN live here as much as anyone else."

"Wars," said Vector. "They happen. Have a weapon that packs that much power, who's gonna stand against them? In that situation you just have to hope you're on the right side."

"I've always thought GUN were evil," said Decode. "This only adds fuel to that fire."

"Don't you work for them?" Espio scoffed.

"No," said the bush baby. "I work for Datastream. I don't trust GUN ever since they stuck a price on my head."

"You're the one who hacked their files," said Crash.

"And they never let it go. Just makes me think they're hiding something. And lo and behold! Project Wreckingball shows up."

"I don't think they're evil per-se," said Espio. "They're split. This group is going against Eggman, while he has most of GUN wrapped up in his own nefarious schemes. They want rid of Eggman like the rest of us do."

"Yeah but somethin' don't smell right," said Vector.

Decode made a thoughtful noise and sat back on the control deck. "Do you think this has something to do with the other guy GUN are looking for?"

The space pirates exchanged confused glances.

"What other guy?" asked Charmy. "They're looking for a lot of people, right?"

"That shady black hedgehog," said Decode. "His poster is all over Pulse City."

"Come on, that's clearly just bait." asked Espio.

Decode shrugged and returned to typing up his notes. "Well I can help you if you want."

"Over my dead body," said Tsunami. "I'm not letting you help out these pirates! That's a sure way to have GUN after your neck again!"

"I couldn't care less if GUN are after me or not," he said.

"Those facts really haven't got to you at all?" asked Crash.

She looked up at her brother. "Have they got to you?"

He shrugged his large shoulders and pushed back from the control deck. "I dunno. It's worrying, though, Nami. I'm not sure I want to risk leaving a weapon like that in their hands. Not only is it deadly, it's cruel. It's making me question their moral standards."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If they're willing to go that far with an alien, what's to stop them blurring the line and using anyone who has over-the-top powers?"

Vector scratched beneath his headphones. "I never thought of that."

"Then there's always the chance they might try to boost someone's powers," Crash went on. "Someone might be able to create flames. GUN boosts it to have them create infernos and unleashes them in a war. They retaliate at all, then boom! Control harness. I don't like this at all, sis."

"You're over-thinking things," said Tsunami.

"Am I?"

She blinked at him, lost for words.

"Let's face it," he went on. "You've read all that's on that disk. You know the facts. But say we hadn't. If I were to tell you I was worried about this Project Wreckingball, and all I had to go on were rumours - or just my own speculation - would you tell me I was over-thinking it?"

She sighed and rubbed a hand down her muzzle. "Probably, yes."

"Then if I'm right, we have a problem. Don't we? There's no saying this jackal is nothing more than a test subject. Number One in a series of experiments of questionable morality."

"I'm with Crash," said Decode. "I was having the same worries."

"Then that cinches it," said Vector. "We really have to get that guy outta there. Slow down their progress and throw a spanner in the works."

"So you're going to rescue this man?" said Tsunami. "Knowing full well he's insane and could kill you?"

"He's muzzled and detained," said Vector. "He shows any aggression then he stays that way."

"And where are you going to put him?" she went on. "What will you do with him when he's out?"

"Try and reason with him," said Espio. "And we can always keep him locked on our ship."

"Yeah," said Charmy. "We have a pretty big and sturdy cargo bay."

"And we have a brig," said Crash. "I'd sooner take my chances with that."

Tsunami jerked her head around to stare at him. Then she sighed and slumped back into the control deck.

"Oh whatever," she said. "I can't exactly turn a blind eye knowing all this. Fine. But if things go wrong, I'm turning each and every one of you in."

Crash blinked a few times. "Erm… does that include me?"

She didn't answer. Instead she shooed Decode and his brew from the control deck then fell into her seat.

"So you want to help us?" Vector gasped.

"No. I don't want to." Tsunami fired a glare over her shoulder. "But this is a one-off. After this, we go back to our old game of cat and mouse."

Vector folded his arms and frowned. "I'm not entirely sure I want your help, merc."

The pair continued to glare at each other. Espio shifted uneasily then tapped his captain on the elbow.

"Hang on, Vector," he said. "If they did help us, it would seriously increase our chances of success."

"Yeah, and then what happens to the jackal?" Vector asked him.

"Simple," Tsunami said before Espio could open his mouth. "He stays in our brig until we know he's no danger. To us or to Mainframe."

Vector flashed his sharp teeth at the pangolin, his gold eyes narrowing dangerously. Crash looked between them then raised a hand in a shrug.

"Let's face it," he said. "We aren't exactly gonna bust him out to turn him back into the authorities again, are we? What good would that achieve?"

"Hard to say with you mercs," said Vector.

Omochao fluttered back through and the Chaotix politely returned their empty mugs to his tea tray before he bothered Datastream for theirs.

"All right," Vector went on. "We'll co-operate this once. What's your plan?"

"Already on it," said Decode.

Everyone turned to the bush baby who was busying himself at the navigation deck with his computer. Tsunami rose to peer over his shoulder, but he didn't seem to care.

"You're hacking into GUN's files?" she groaned.

"I'm getting their maps," said Decode. "Nothing confidential."

She let out a sigh of relief and leant forwards on the back of his chair.

"And their security camera locations and bot-grades," he finished.

She almost sank to the floor. Vector, however, let out a cheery raucous laugh.

"This kid's got guts!" he said. "I like it."

Espio joined Decode's side and eyed his work with fascination. "You plan to remotely shut the robots down?"

"If I can," said Decode. "Otherwise you'll have to destroy them. And we don't really want to leave any evidence."

"They already know the Chaotix stole this information in the first place," said Tsunami. "It's not as if GUN couldn't do the math."

The two reptiles grunted while Charmy looked at each of them in turn, scratching his head.

"Okay. Let me correct myself." Decode glanced back at Tsunami with one pink eye. "We don't want to leave any evidence. Excuse me for trying to be a team player."

"Enough sass." She returned to her seat and fell heavily into it. "Find us the location and let's get a move on. We can come up with a plan of action on the way."

"Hang fire," said Vector. "What about our ship? We can follow you in that."

"Two ships would double our chances of being seen," said Tsunami.

"Exactly." Crash grinned at the space pirates. "You might wanna pull up a seat."

...

The corridors of the FBI's high security cells were always dim, and there was that one light that was always flickering. A wiring problem, given the amount of bulbs that had been 'replaced' in a bid to fix it. Gadget tutted as he lowered his head, nudging his glasses up his snout before they slipped off his face. Once he was past that bulb's migraine-inducing strobe, he looked up again to scout the cells. Most of them empty. The FBI had been quiet recently, but the odd whimper came from one cell where an agent worked away to probe at a spy caught lurking outside Doctor Eggman's lair.

The red wolf followed the corridor around to the end. A large cell with a glass front. Shatterproof glass behind a second window with a door, allowing Gadget to sandwich himself between them while still being out of the prisoner's reach. Not that he could touch him anyway. Gadget pushed a button on the intercom, activating it.

"Prisoner I45724?" he said.

The black and white jackal opened his eyes, although Gadget was fairly sure he'd not been sleeping. His right eye didn't seem to notice him. Blue and disfigured by an ugly scar. His golden one, though, almost sent chills down Gadget's spine.

"I have a name you know," the prisoner growled.

"Not here you don't," said Gadget.

But it's not as if he didn't know it. The jackal had practically screamed it at him, right before locking his jaws around his left ear. Gadget resisted the urge to rub at it. The surgeons had done a good job of restoring it, but it still sported a nasty scar down the back, where his fur had yet to grow back. 'Infinite', he'd said. What kind of name was that? Then he'd laughed as the guards dragged him back to his cell, leaving the wolf nursing what remained of his ear. But Infinite hadn't laughed for long. The guards made sure of that. And the wretched jackal had never pulled such a stunt again. Gadget made sure of that.

Infinite glared back at him, his jaws straining against the chain muzzle as it cut into his snout. It was an attempt to bare his canines.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want to know if you're going to co-operate this time?"

Infinite narrowed his eyes and his long, bushy tail twitched. "When are you gonna get bored of running tests on me?"

"When I'm satisfied."

"I miss the old doctor. He left his weapons at the door."

"You've made it pretty clear I need them."

Infinite attempted to shrug beneath his straitjacket. "You wouldn't need them if you weren't so obsessed with how fast I regenerate."

"You bit off my ear, Infinite!" Gadget snapped.

The glass fogged under his breath and he swiped it away with the back of his glove. Infinite stared back at him, a sinister smirk spreading across his muzzle.

"Hey, would you look at that," he said. "You remembered my name. Guess it worked."

Gadget flashed a canine and reached for the door. As the lock clicked, Infinite struggled to his feet, staggering back into the cushioned wall. His eyes widened and Gadget saw a hint of fear wash over him. But it vanished just as quickly as the jackal braced himself. The door closed behind Gadget as he strolled onto the heavily padded floor. It was a lot brighter in the cell than in the corridor, and he had to squint. He clutched his taser baton at his side, keeping one eye on Infinite. The wolf hugged the wall, while Infinite crept along the opposite one, eyes trailing over Gadget and his chosen weapon. His own design. A modification on GUN's defence batons. Gadget's opinion was always that a good defence was a fantastic offence.

"I don't need to hurt you if you'll just co-operate." Gadget spoke through clenched teeth.

Infinite's hackles bristled and he sneered. "You said that last week."

"You didn't co-operate."

"What do you want with me, wolf?!"

"I want to know what the extent of your powers are," Gadget explained.

Infinite blinked at him and his lips turned down into an uncertain frown. His breathing turned loud and raspy as though his throat had suddenly closed up, and he fixed his eyes on the stun baton.

"Which ones?" he asked.

Gadget lifted the baton to point and Infinite tensed, pulling his lips back as much as the chains would allow. Gadget sighed and bobbed the baton until the jackal got the message. He strained to see the heavy blue, metal collar around his neck. Three lights blinked neon blue, almost drowned out by the fluorescent light bouncing off the white walls and floor.

Infinite grinned and let out a dry chuckle. His eyes sparkled and he leant back against the wall, visibly relaxing.

"Sure, doc," he said. "You wanna remove this collar, be my guest."

That wasn't the reaction Gadget had wanted. Or expected. He clutched the baton at his side, glaring back at the jackal.

"Oh, I won't be the one removing it," he said.

Infinite smirked at him. "Pity. Given I know how fascinated every one of you is. That's why none of you are letting me go. Even though I've made it pretty clear how I feel about Eggman."

"That's because we don't believe you're on our side."

"I'm not." Infinite shrugged. "I never said I was." He kicked himself back from the wall and strolled towards Gadget, lowering his head to look him in the eye. "After everything you lot have put me through, why would I be?"

Gadget braced himself for an attack, but Infinite stopped a couple of feet away from him and inclined his head. Waiting for an answer. Mocking him.

"If you'd co-operated, then you wouldn't-"

Infinite let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "You're all obsessed with me! This power is like nothing you've ever seen! You're too scared to let me go because of what I could do! Or is it because you'd lose it? Lose something you want to control?" He took another step towards him until Gadget could feel his breath on his face. "I know what you want with me, wolf. And I'm not gonna let you do it."

Gadget narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on his baton. "You know nothing."

"I know more than you think."

That raspy noise left Infinite's throat again and he fixed his eyes on Gadget's wounded ear. Then he rose back to his full height and grinned.

What was he getting at? Was it just mind games? Or had someone been careless, spewing out GUN's plans in the corridors? No… it couldn't be the latter. This cell was sound-proofed. So it had to be mind games. Unless his powers could allow him to read someone's thoughts? Maybe the detainment collar restricted less than they thought? His powers were an enigma. One Gadget itched to uncover.

"Let's do a little science here," said Infinite. "Many scientists and soldiers have tried to 'test' me. I've been cooped up here, and moved around, for what… forty… fifty… sixty years? I've lost count. They don't exactly give me a calendar. A long time, anyway. They've removed my collar, I've lashed out. A well-deserved lashing out as well, I might add. It was awesome. But they overpowered me. So here you are, riding on the back of the fact I've not had much practice with these powers. Surely you, a genius, can get to the bottom of what these powers can do? So you can act out your nefarious plans. Well, I've got a question for you, wolf. If a bunch of GUN security guards can't control me, then what makes you think a pathetic, weak, nasally scientist can?"

Gadget pulled his lips back and narrowed his eyes. "Watch your mouth, wretch."

Infinite laughed and shook his head. "Struck a nerve? Well… it's not like I can't relate. Let's see… high school was tough? Never had a girlfriend. Picked last in sports. University was no better. Now you abuse that doctorate to satisfy what the world wouldn't give you? By picking on someone stronger than you, no do-"

Gadget brought the baton around into the side of Infinite's head, knocking him sideways. He landed heavily on the padded floor, but he wasn't down for long. He rolled onto his back and forced himself up, shaking his head so hard his long ears flopped and his mane went everywhere. He glared up at Gadget between clumps of white fur and snarled.

"I was trying to negotiate!" he snapped.

"By picking me apart?" Gadget snarled.

"At least I was only using words." Infinite chuckled as a smirk spread across his muzzle. "Did they hurt?"

Gadget sneered down at him and flared the baton to life. Electricity sparked from the end of it and Infinite's eyes flew towards it. Then he leapt to his feet in one fluid motion. The top of his head struck Gadget in the muzzle, sending the wolf careening back into the glass. The wind flew from his lungs and he slid down it, the room blurring across his vision. Infinite's tall shape stood like a shadow among the haze. Warmth trickled from Gadget's nose and he wiped blood away on the back of his glove. But before he could gather himself, Infinite leapt towards him and swung his foot around into the side of his head. Gadget left the floor, coming down again hard on his back. Then Infinite was on him, driving his knee into his stomach and winding him further.

He crouched over Gadget, slowly coming back into focus. His lips were pulled back, his hot breath spreading over Gadget's face. The scientist could clearly make out his white fur poking between the iron chains, and small pink patches where it had been rubbed away.

"If you can't handle me like this," he said, "then you should just back down and leave me alone. I don't want to see your sorry face at my window again."

"Tough." Gadget's voice came out shockingly weak, but he hid it behind a glare. "Because you're my project."

He sat up swiftly, throwing his weight into it. His forehead struck Infinite square in the muzzle. Chains cut into Gadget's skin, but he bit back a yelp. Infinite fell back from him with a grunt, giving the wolf enough time to scramble for the baton. Abandoned at the window where he'd previously fallen. His jaw and snout pounded with every movement, but he pushed himself up. Just in time to see Infinite lunging for him. The baton sparked and he swung it into the jackal's side. The blast sent him flying away from him and a loud scream left Infinite's throat. He crashed down in the middle of the room, landing in a sprawl.

Gadget leant against the glass as he panted for breath, breathing in the smell of burning fur. The only other sound was Infinite's grunting as he struggled to roll himself over. His left side was burnt raw, but was slowly healing before Gadget's eyes. The baton had burnt right through the canvas of his straitjacket. Although the damage wasn't enough to provide a problem.

Infinite coughed a few times as he forced himself to sit up, and fixed Gadget in a glare. But the wolf had nothing more to say. He'd made his point. He turned and left the cell, giving Infinite one last leer through the glass.

...

**I respond to all reviews here ;)**

**Please R&R! =D**


	4. PW Chapter 4

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reviews, faves and follows! **

Chapter Four

It didn't take Decode long to track down the jackal's location. A high security cell in a lab on one of the islands just off the mainland. It was somewhere Tsunami had always considered to be a prison, so finding it also listed as a lab had come as a surprise. She'd sent enough prisoners that way to be handed over to the FBI for questioning. Did they know what was going on, or were they kept in the dark?

The building itself looked more like a prison than a lab. High walls and fences surrounded a large stone structure, with several gates to get through before one could even reach the main building. No problem for an airship, provided it wasn't spotted. The Raptor hovered above it, shrouded in its cloak. It was enough to keep it off GUN's radar, at least. But once her team dropped from it, they'd be exposed.

"All entrances and exits are heavily guarded," Decode explained. "Espio has taken out the cameras with a scramble code. It might take them a while to get them back online, but you should work fast. I wouldn't put it past them to have an efficient technician team on, even at this hour."

"What about the robots?" Crash asked. "How many?"

"I can't get them all offline," said Decode. "You'll be up against some grade-3 Eggman tech. Lasers, heat trackers, bullets… Nothing you can't handle."

Crash smacked a fist into his palm and grinned. "Bring it."

Tsunami cast her brother a sideways glance. "You're enjoying this too much."

"It's a change of pace." He shrugged and tucked his arms behind his head.

"It's gonna be dangerous," said Vector. "So I hope you guys hold up and don't slow us down."

"You're forgetting we almost caught you yesterday," said Tsunami.

"Yeah. 'Almost'." The crocodile shrugged. "You make any mistakes, you're toast. This is GUN we're talkin' about."

"And we've handled GUN enough times to know what we're up against." Espio tossed one of his shuriken and caught it in his other hand. "I don't imagine you have? Given you usually work for them."

Tsunami flashed a canine but Crash placed a hand on her shoulder, placating her.

"Just leave it, Nami," he said. "We dive in, bail that jackal, then come straight back here. Easy."

"Ever the optimist," muttered Decode.

Crash merely grinned.

"Have you scouted a path?" Tsunami asked Decode.

The bush baby shooed a curious Charmy from his computer. "It's your typical fair. Lots of corridors and air vents. So you won't be short of places to hide, but… there might be some small 'bots in the vents to keep an eye on things. If I were to guess, cleaners with cameras to spy. It's a high security building, but their main priority is to keep people in, not out. So… you might have a harder time escaping." He paused to return to the holoscreen. "I'll send you the map so you can keep track of where you're up to."

"All of us?" Vector folded his arms and frowned.

"Of course," said Decode. "Get ready to drop. Charmy will keep you reptiles posted. I'll stay in touch with Datastream."

Vector adjusted his headphones and cast the bee a disapproving glare. "Make sure you do this time, Charmy. Or I'll be mounting your stinger on my wall."

Tsunami led them out to the exit hatch. The drop ladder was formed up of solid light, and as she clutched the pink beam it dropped smoothly and silently down towards the ground. More rungs appeared above her as her allies followed her down. The pink light would be a sure giveaway if it wasn't for The Raptor's flawless shield. Once they broke it, the neon beams would be as clear as day. She wasn't about to allow that. Once she was a few feet from the ground, she dropped and the beam vanished. She landed in a squat and rolled aside for her brother to land beside her.

Soft grass spread out on either side, dotted with well manicured gardens. A high security cell, yet it was very well tended. Gardening was likely one of the tasks the inmates were assigned. A breath of fresh air. Get back to nature.

She rose and dusted herself off as she checked over the map. The only way in was through the tall gate on her left. Once she was past that, they'd be faced by a back door, which would need unlocking.

Espio was already ahead of her, picking the cast iron lock on the gate while Vector kept an eye open beyond it. Tsunami peered up at the windows of the building as she joined the space pirate's side.

"All right. You say you've faced GUN before," she said. "What do you expect beyond this point?"

"The threat of death if you don't keep your voice down," the crocodile growled.

Tsunami's hand clasped around her laser but she didn't draw it. A soft clink drew her eye back to the gate, and Espio discarded the padlock in the grass. The gate swung open, creaking on its hinges. They all froze, searching the shadows beyond it.

Two red lights glinted by the wall, and two wheel-like robots rolled out from them. Lasers fired from the lights and Tsunami and her allies scattered. Before she could even draw her laser, one of the robots faltered as a shuriken embedded itself in its face. The other one was reduced to shrapnel as Crash burst through it. He stood over it like a gladiator, brushing metal shards off his scales and gloves.

"They weren't grade-3," he said.

'I never said all of them were grade-3,' came Decode's voice. 'I said 'some'.'

Tsunami shook her head at his words and rushed to the door, just before Espio could reach it. A hand print recognition panel faced her. Simple hack job. She removed her computer but the chameleon shooed her aside.

"I had this," she growled.

"Hacking's my forte." He leveled his computer with the panel. "I'll have us inside faster than you can blink."

"Didn't you bust the reader in your last little job?"

He shrugged. "I was in a rush."

Sparks flew from the sides of the panel and each one of the locks clicked open. Then the lights above the reader went out. Espio's spine stiffened and he glanced at her over his shoulder with a sheepish grin.

"I think we're in," he said.

Tsunami slammed her hand into her muzzle and groaned. "We are so gonna die."

Vector shoved the door open and led them inside with Crash. The corridor lit up red and Tsunami flinched as a deep siren roared in her ears. She cracked an eye open as a small army of wheel robots rushed at them. She picked off the front one with a shot from her laser, while the rest were demolished by Crash and Vector.

Then the siren stopped.

'Guys, I warned you the tech guys might get security back online,' said Decode. 'I'm in a battle with them, but I don't know how long I can hold them off. You're gonna have to be quick. That jackal isn't far from you. You want to follow the corridor to the asylum. Do not continue straight, or you'll find yourself in the labs.'

"Maybe we want the labs," said Vector.

Tsunami looked up at him with a start. "Decode just said not to go to the labs!"

"But that's where all the science is!" Vector whispered harshly. "We might find that harness or somethin'."

"We're here for the jackal and that's it."

She barged past the crocodile and followed the corridor right. Crash followed on her tail, along with a grumpy Vector. There was no sign of Espio and part of her worried he'd gone against their advice and taken to the lab. She muttered to herself and shrugged it off. If he had, then more fool him. She wasn't about to save his tail.

The corridor was plunged into an eerie red light once more as the siren blared. Footsteps echoed towards them as crimson dots bounced along the walls. Three figures rounded the bend, aiming their rifles at the intruders. Tsunami ducked and skidded along the floor as the lead polecat fired. His yellow eyes widened and he let out a yelp as he was tugged back behind his allies. One of them, a small porcupine, spun on the spot to assist him. But Tsunami brought her tail around in an arc, slamming it into the rodent's prickly back. He fell face first onto the floor, sending his rifle skittering into the wall. His beaver ally fell down beside him and Crash stood over him dusting off his gloves.

Espio slowly reappeared over the polecat's unconscious body and nodded to the bend the soldiers had come from.

"I say we go that way," he said over the siren.

Tsunami checked the map on her visor and nodded. The other bend led towards another exit, leading out into the sports ground. If it came to it, that might be their quickest getaway.

The prison fell into silence again as Decode won the war with the tech staff. Tsunami retrieved one of the rifles and tossed it to Vector.

"You any good with one of these?" she asked.

He scratched his head as he stared down at it, then shrugged. "I can give it a go."

"Don't shoot to kill," she growled.

The crocodile raised his hands then looped the strap over his shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Crash and Tsunami took the other two rifles and followed Espio into the next corridor. The smell of citrus and ammonia filled the air, and a yellow 'wet floor' cone stood in their path. They trod carefully, sidestepping the cone, and Tsunami noted an air vent. A red light rolled back and forth beyond it as the little robot inside checked for the intruders. Full alert, despite the sirens being taken care of.

She motioned for everyone to duck and crept beneath it. The robot's red light trailed along the wall opposite her as she hugged the pristine tiles, just out of its prying reach. The red light vanished as a flurry of sparks erupted above her. A kunai stuck out of the grille, electricity dancing along its blade. The chameleon grabbed it by the leather-wrapped handle and shook it a few times.

"That solves that problem," he said.

Tsunami wanted to bite back, but the pirate had a point. If they needed to get away quickly, a spying tattle-tale would only slow them down.

Heavy footsteps shook the walls and she turned back to the passage ahead. A looming shadow bounded along the wall, with two glowing red spots searching as the robot turned its head. Its huge metallic bulk took up the width of the corridor, and it hoisted a machine gun in its clawed right hand.

"Now that one's grade-3," said Crash.

Bullets erupted from its gun, peppering the walls and cracking the tiles. Tsunami dropped into a ball and grimaced as the hot bullets bounced off her hard scales. The gun whirred to a stop and the robot lowered it to reload.

Tsunami stood up, removing her pilfered sniper rifle. But Vector placed a hand on it as he stared the robot down.

"The big guy and I have got this," he said. "You two find a way around, and we'll join you in the asylum."

Crash lifted his fists and nodded, casting her a sideways glance. She tucked the rifle back and turned to the air vent. The robot's gun whirred to life once more and she dropped from it, lifting her tail to shield her face. But it wasn't enough. Heat seared her shoulder and she clenched her teeth together, curling her tail over it. As the attack petered out, someone grabbed her collar and dragged her into the air vent. She fixed her blue eyes on Espio's and let out a flustered breath.

"I was fine," she said.

"You're welcome."

He turned and scurried on all-fours down through the pipe. She shook her head and crawled after him, resisting the urge to curl up and barrel along past him. He was quick, vanishing around bends long before she could reach them. She clambered over the sparking remains of a cleaning robot, pausing only to make sure its camera wasn't functioning. When she found Espio, he was peering through a vent into a vacant hallway. One of the lights strobed, making every small movement he made look like a stop-motion animation.

"I think this is it," he whispered.

She leant over his head, scouting out the hallway and her map at the same time. It was definitely it. She nodded and he popped the vent free, slipping out before her like water off a cliff.

She landed beside him and drew her laser. But it was quiet. Too quiet. Espio darted from her side towards one of the cells. Glass-fronted. She trotted to join him and turned her back, aiming her laser down the corridor towards where Vector and Crash should be coming from. A brief explosion, lighting up the tiles. Either the robot had been destroyed, or Crash had resorted to his flash bombs.

Tsunami turned to the cell and squinted into it. Dark, but she could just make out the lithe form of someone sitting against the far wall. Espio hacked into the first door without reducing it to a sparking mess. He held it open and ushered her inside, keeping a gold eye on the corridor. A long control panel stretched beneath the wide, heavy duty glass window. Soundproof? If the prisoner was asleep, then the only way to get his attention was to use the intercom.

She jabbed the button and spoke into the microphone. "Hello?"

"What are you doing?" Espio hissed.

She ignored him, watching as the prisoner shifted against the wall.

"You're new," he said. "They don't usually send night staff. What is it? Someone broken out and you're making sure it's not me?"

"I'm not staff," she said. "We're here to get you out."

Espio's tail flicked behind him as he frantically checked the corridor, shuriken poised at the ready.

"So you're what all the fuss is about?" The jackal laughed and pushed himself to his feet. "Then I guess I should let you know they're recording everything you say?"

She tutted and frowned at the control panel. "I don't think it really matters. It's not as if they don't know we're here."

A few shouts reached her ears and Espio leapt from the glass to intersect the soldiers. But Vector and Crash were already on their tails.

"Well this should be interesting," said the jackal. "You might want to make it quick."

She aimed her laser at the hand print panel and fired, frying the wires. Then she tried the door. Nothing. She muttered to herself and grabbed the sparking wires. Static shot up her arm and she clenched her teeth as she tugged them free. The door clicked open, swinging out towards her. The jackal's black and white form lumbered through it, his claws clinking on the tiles. She took a step back as she looked into his eyes, both amused and curious. And slightly mad. He gave her a toothy grin behind a cast iron muzzle and nudged her back towards the corridor with his snout.

"Get a move on, lass."

Vector and Crash had overwhelmed the soldiers, but yet more were pouring in from both sides. She turned back to the jackal and slipped behind him. He tried to turn to watch her, and leapt away when she reached for his bindings.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said bluntly.

She reached under her skirt for one of her throwing knives and grabbed the back of his straight jacket. He twisted from her grip and flashed his canines in a snarl.

"I don't trust anyone with pointy things," he said.

She stared up at him, noting his scar and mismatched eyes. His muzzle had been rubbed raw in places, and the straight jacket was singed on his left side. His chest heaved as he stared at the dagger in her hand, eyes growing more frantic. Whatever went on behind the walls of this 'high security cell' was becoming wildly questionable.

"I'm just trying to free your arms," she said. "You're not going to make a quick get-away tied up like that, are you?"

He glanced up at her face, reading her. But his expression didn't soften. Regardless, he gave a curt nod and turned his back. He tensed as she grabbed the fabric of the over-sized sleeves. The blade cut through the canvas, snagging on the stiff threads. He did the rest, tugging the material apart and letting out a sigh of relief. He rubbed at his elbows and let out a dry chuckle.

"Finally!"

He flailed the long sleeves like a pair of wings, laughing like a maniac. Then he grabbed the right one in his left hand and tore it off at the elbow. Just the one. Then he made for the door. Tsunami stared after him, aghast. Then she gave herself a mental shake and rushed out to join her allies, laser at the ready.

A large body fell down before her, sending her stumbling back into the glass room. The jackal flicked blood from his claws and turned to face the rest of the soldiers. Bullets tore through the air, desperate to take him down. Yet he laughed, vaulting over their heads to strike them in their backs. Shouts and screams filled the cell, bullets and lasers bounced off the tiles, and all Tsunami could do was cower behind the glass wondering what on earth she'd just unleashed. She spotted Crash and Vector beyond the glass as they barreled through the soldiers rushing the jackal's back. He glanced back at them and nodded, then abandoned the massacre towards the exit.

The siren cut through the air again as the corridor lights turned red. Yet the flickering one still strobed like a club light. Tsunami found herself dragged to her feet and Espio materialized beside her. He ushered her ahead of him and they followed after their allies. It wasn't difficult. The jackal had left a trail of bloody paw-prints on the pristine tiles.

"I'm starting to regret this," she muttered. "No one was meant to die."

"At least he's on our side," said Espio.

She fired him a venomous look and he shrugged.

"I'm not disagreeing with you," he said. "I didn't want any casualties either."

They found Vector and Crash by the door while the jackal watched them hacking away at the lock. One that needed a code as opposed to a hand print. He sucked on a claw, glancing nervously back up the corridor. Espio cut between them and took over, reducing the code panel to sparks in an instant.

"There's an army out there," said the jackal. "I can hear them."

Tsunami stared at the door. She couldn't hear anything. Was it all a ruse?

"Decode?" she said. "What's the situation in the sports ground?"

'Is that the exit you're choosing?' The bush baby sounded surprised. 'I thought you were coming back out in the gardens?'

"That was the plan, but we were ambushed."

'I'll have a look now.' He hummed to himself as he brought up the cameras. 'Yikes. There's a small army waiting.'

Tsunami exchanged a glance with Crash's raised eyebrow, and he looked up at the jackal behind her.

"How small?" she asked.

'Twenty or so GUN soldiers. All armed. And a handful of grade-3 robots.'

She let out a groan and rubbed her muzzle. "He's right. There's an army."

The jackal waved his bloodied hand at his large ears. "Told you I could hear them."

Espio froze with a hand on the door. He looked back at his allies then at the corridor.

"I don't think we have time to go back and find another exit," he said.

"I can handle an army," said the jackal. "Not like this, however… you'd need to release me."

Vector flexed his hands as he eyed the prisoner's collar. "It looks too sturdy to break."

"They use a code," said the jackal. "I think your small purple friend could do it."

"Wait." Tsunami cut before the two reptiles. "We've had enough casualties."

Vector frowned at her over Espio's head. "We need to get out, Nami, or we're gonna get killed."

Crash shifted and leant back on the door. "I'm afraid I'm with Vector on this one."

Tsunami sighed and leant against the wall. "Look, we can't kill anymore soldiers. If we do, we'll end up wanted criminals."

"I think after this we're already wanted criminals," said Crash.

"Still, we shouldn't be mindlessly killing anyone!"

The jackal folded his arms and stared down at her. "I don't think they hold the same sentiment."

She rubbed her nose then met his eyes. "Can you cut us a path without taking any lives?"

An unsettling smirk tugged at his lips and if it weren't for the wall she feared she'd be shrinking back from it.

"I need an answer," she said.

He closed his eyes and shrugged. "I can try."

"That's all I need to hear!" Vector clapped his hands together and reached for the collar. "Let's get this thing off. Espio?"

"On it!" The chameleon motioned for the jackal to crouch down so he could work at the lock.

Tsunami joined her brother's side and gave the trio a nervous glance.

"Somehow I think they would have done this without even thinking," she whispered.

Crash shrugged and glanced back at the door. "If it gets us out safely, I'm not complaining."

"Why do I feel like you've enjoyed this way too much?"

"Oh come on, the entire thing has been a massive train wreck." He grinned at her. "Not that I don't enjoy smashing up robots. But it's little wonder these buffoons are even still alive."

"Got it!" Vector pulled the bulky collar away.

The jackal rose to his feet, rubbing at his neck.

'Things might be a little more in your favour,' said Decode. 'The soldiers have apprehended another ship.'

"What?" Tsunami gasped. "What 'other ship'?"

'A black one,' said Decode. 'Two pirates dropped out into the sports yard. It's as if they're on some kinda suicide mission.'

Her lip curled in a frown as she stared at the door. It slowly lit up red and her spine began to tingle. She turned to face the jackal. A crimson haze surrounded his hands, one still completely hidden behind the draping sleeve of his straitjacket.

"You might wanna stand back," he said.

She didn't need telling twice. She stood back with Crash, and a deep pulsing noise filled the corridor. It pressed on her eardrums and she lifted her hands to tug her scales down over her ears. The entire door exploded into crimson shards, raining outward like tiny throwing knives. Startled yelps came from the rubble and the guards scurried back, raising their arms to shield themselves.

The jackal led them out into the yard, tossing out a flurry of crimson cubes. The path ahead of them warped, exploding with geysers of soil and rock. Soldiers were tossed into the air like rag-dolls. Bullets rained out from the robots' machine guns, drawing the jackal's focus. His attack cut out as if it had just been switched off and he dived to dodge the bullets.

The pangolin twins curled up, barging after him and scattering any soldiers brave enough to intersect them like bowling pins. The Chaotix covered the rear, firing their weapons into the fray. One of Espio's blades hit one of the robots in the eye, sending it falling backwards to crush the soldiers unfortunate enough to be hiding behind it.

Then the jackal unleashed his attack again, this time sending the soldiers into a pool of red. They rained back down from the sky, landing heavily on the tarmac. All but one. The blue blur shot towards him, homing in on his head. But he spotted the attack, lashing out with his sleeved arm. The canvas whipped out, fastening around the target's leg. A blue hedgehog found himself dragged back towards the ground. He grunted as the wind left his lungs and the jackal kicked him aside with a raucous laugh.

"Not this time!" he roared.

Tsunami searched the sky. They needed to get out of here fast. But all she could see was the black ship.

"Decode, where are you?"

As if on cue, The Raptor dropped its cloak. It was just ahead of them, its ladder already descending. She fixed her sights on it and nodded until the jackal got the message. He turned back to the prison and tossed the soldiers back that way. One after the other, with his strange portholes. As the battlefield cleared, Tsunami spotted a black shape skulking below her ship, sheltered by a yellow skip.

Her heart sank and she clenched her teeth together. "You have to be kidding me?"

Rough's red eyes widened when he spotted her and he ducked slightly back into his hiding spot. It was clear he'd been planning to hijack their ship in a bid to escape.

"Slight change of plan!" she roared.

Vector watched after her as she darted towards the skip. A bullet skimmed her shoulder and she fired back with her laser. The fox yelped as he dropped his rifle, staggering back over his two tails. A robot dog whimpered at his side, cowering slightly as it checked over its handler.

Rough gave her a sheepish grin. "Hey there, beautiful. Fancy meeting you h-eep!"

She tugged him out from behind the skip by his ruff. "What are you doing here?! And where's your brother?"

His face fell and he looked back at the soldiers. Tsunami couldn't see any sign of the cream skunk, but his answer was obvious. She muttered to herself and shoved him ahead of her towards her ship's ladder.

"How did you even find us?" she hissed.

"I'm good at trackin' people," he answered bluntly.

"So you'd track someone right to your death?" she spat.

"How were I meant to-"

"Hurry up onto my ship before I let them turn you into a plush rug!"

The jackal and Crash were already clambering up towards The Raptor. Rough followed after the prisoner, sandwiched between Vector.

Vector spluttered and waved a hand. "Keep that thing outta my face, skunk. I think I'm allergic!"

Rough sneered down at him and flicked his tail out of the crocodile's nose. "You're meant to be! That's the point!"

Tsunami silently mourned the fate of her ship as she clutched onto the ladder. Espio had been waiting patiently for her before climbing on himself. He held on behind her then the ladder began to rise, lifting them out of reach of the soldier's weapons. Not that they could do anything. The jackal had thrown up some kind of protective shield. But she kept her laser trained on the ground below. Utter chaos. Upturned ground, robot shrapnel, bodies… too many casualties. Despite her wishes, the deranged jackal had still managed to kill several soldiers with his crazy portholes.

Although it was safe to say if he hadn't been with them, they wouldn't have made it out alive. It was clear why GUN had dubbed him 'Project Wreckingball'.

Crash helped her through the door and she stumbled into the bridge, clutching her wounded shoulder.

"Cloak and run," she told Decode.

His slender hands flew over the controls and the ship moved out at a steady pace. She turned to the rest of her 'team'. A mixture of accomplishment, confusion and guilt. The jackal fell into the middle category as he eyed the various controls and lights.

"Okay. You," she pointed to the jackal, then Rough, "and you! Brig!"

Vector, Espio and Rough each let out yells of surprise. The skunk pointed at himself and sank back against the wall.

"You're lockin' me up?"

"You tailed us!" she snapped. "You attacked us on the docks! And then you were trying to get on my ship? What else am I supposed to do?!"

"I was tryin' to escape!" he snapped. "They arrested my brother and took my ship! I were trapped!"

Tsunami spoke through clenched teeth. "It's your own fault."

Rough sighed into his hand then shrugged. "Fine. Do whatever. I ain't complainin'. At least I'm alive."

The jackal watched them both out of his golden eye. "And what, may I ask, is a brig?"

"A holding cell," said Decode.

The jackal made a thoughtful noise and stroked his chin. "So you bust me from one cell to throw me into another?"

The Chaotix stiffened and Vector began to move out of the bridge. Tsunami feigned fearlessness as she met the prisoner's eyes.

"What do I call you?" she asked.

"Infinite," he said.

"Strange name."

He shrugged and turned to face her. "So what was your reason for freeing me, exactly?"

"For your own good," she said. "But then you went and massacred the soldiers!"

"So let me get this straight." He stooped so he was eye-level with her, the chains on his muzzle clinking as they strained. "You're gonna lock me up again, right after busting me out?"

His voice was iced with warning. She clenched a fist at her side. He noticed, flashing a canine in response.

"Not if you co-operate," she said.

"You sound just like them," he growled.

A brief silence fell over the bridge, and Tsunami searched his eyes for any sign of friendliness. She saw none, and it unsettled her greatly.

"Sheesh," said Vector. "Those guys never gave you a chance, did they?"

Infinite shook his head slowly.

Tsunami closed her eyes and sighed. She wasn't about to be like them. Maybe he'd never had the chance to show anyone his friendly side. There was only one way to see if he actually had one.

"Fine," she said. "I won't lock you up. I'll… show you to a room. You can rest, get cleaned up, get rid of that… garment." She waved a hand to his tattered straitjacket.

He grinned and rose again. "All right. Deal."

She led him from the bridge, pausing beside Rough. She narrowed her eyes and waved a hand at him.

"I want this out of my sight by the time I get back," she said.

"Roger!" said Crash.

She nodded and led Infinite down the corridor, past several closed rooms. She stopped at one and opened it. A spare room perchance they had any guests. Some mercenary missions had been simple transfer jobs that meant they had people on board for a couple of days or so. Despite its lack of use, there wasn't a speck of dust in sight. Omachao had been hard at work keeping everything spotless.

Infinite sank onto the bed and bounced a couple of times. "Not bad."

But before he could fall onto his back, Tsunami stopped him and pulled out a lock pick.

"I don't think you need a muzzle, now, do you?" she asked.

"I dunno…" He scratched behind his right ear and chuckled. "I guess that depends on how much you trust me."

She didn't. But she wasn't exactly going to tell him that. Instead, she seated herself beside him and swiftly picked the lock fastened over the back of his head. He made a strange grunting sound that reminded her of a disgruntled pig she'd tried to strike a deal with once. But she didn't question it. The lock came apart with a soft click and Infinite swiped the muzzle off. It landed in his lap and he stretched out his jaw.

"Thank goodness for that," he muttered.

He leered down at the muzzle and a red haze surrounded his hand. Tsunami plucked the iron torture device from his lap and stood up quickly.

"I'll dispose of this," she said.

The haze fizzled out and he watched her walk to the door. "Are you usually this much of a buzzkill?"

"Depends who you ask." She pulled the door open and glanced back at him. "Shower is at the back of the ship. It's pretty self explanatory. Don't go too far, though, or you'll find yourself in the brig."

She closed the door behind her, leaving the jackal to his own devices. She wasn't sure how much of a good idea that was, however.

...

**A/N - If anyone likes song suggestions, Infinite's battle theme in my playlist is 'Bring the Madness (Noisestorm Remix)' by Pegboard Nerds. That jackal has adopted so many songs in my rapidly growing playlist... I'm open to any suggestions people might toss back at me, although EDM is highly preferred for this setting.**

**Review Replies:**

**TurquoiseTriangle - Gadget probably thought so! XD Thanks for reading!**

**TheLobsterLover - Thanks! I'm glad you like my OCs. I enjoy creating them. As for Infinite, well... time will tell what his motives are. I hope this chapter was too your liking! Thanks for reading!**

**As always, please R&R! I love reading your reviews!**


	5. PW Chapter 5

**A/N - Thanks for all reviews, faves and follows! I'm going to edit Chapter One to add a synopsis for Project Wreckingball, given this saga is made up of several different stories with their own plots. I've made a start on Book 2, and it's struck me I should probably do that...**

Chapter Five

Books and files went flying as Gadget flipped over his desk with a roar, sending his computer shattering to the floor to join the cracked test tubes and glass tumblers. He kicked out at a small chair which went careening into the wall. The tiles cracked as it struck it, and one of the screws launched itself from its backrest to ping into the empty filing cabinet. The wolf leapt towards it, slamming the drawers shut repeatedly until the entire thing fell sideways to crush his wounded chair.

"Doc?"

He bristled and spun towards the door, meeting the emerald eyes of a blue hedgehog.

"This had better be good news!" Gadget barked.

Sonic clicked his tongue and turned from the door. "I can come back later."

"Just tell me you've found him!"

Gadget's voice froze the hedgehog mid-dash. He turned back to the door and shrugged. Then strolled into the office, stepping around the broken glass.

"That pirate knows nothing," he explained. "He said they were here on the back of a rumour. All he can remember is that the Chaotix captain Vector referred to it as 'Project Wreckingball'. Although it did take him a while to get that right."

Gadget clenched his right hand into a fist. "So they managed to gain access to those files after all?"

"Apparently."

"I thought you said your companion was a genius? That he'd coded it so no one except GUN could open those files safely!"

"Hey, Tails is a genius. But it doesn't mean there aren't any professional hackers out there who can-"

Gadget lifted a hand to silence him then stooped to drag his chair free from beneath the filing cabinet. The hollow metal contraption struck the floor with a loud clatter.

"What else did the skunk say?" he asked. "Anything that might actually point us in the right direction?"

Sonic shrugged again and leant against the wall. "He never saw the file, and neither did his brother. He said they wouldn't have given it the time of day, too busy with their own jobs. But his brother has a crush on Datastream's squad leader and it drove him after them."

Gadget stood up straight to look at him. "A pirate and a mercenary? Interesting."

"It sounds like a case of 'wrong place at the wrong time' if you ask me," said Sonic. "I'd be all set to let the skunk go, if he wasn't involved."

"No. No, don't do that." Gadget flopped into his seat. The backrest wobbled so he leant forward on his knees and stared at the hedgehog. "We can use that pirate as bait."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, prompting the scientist to elaborate. A smirk tugged at the wolf's lips.

"You said Datastream rescued that skunk's brother?" he said. "That suggests to me we could use him to bait them all back here. You don't just rescue someone you don't care about. I want each and every one of those behind bars, waiting to fry."

"But the skunk brothers aren't-"

"Aren't what?" Gadget snapped. "Involved? Because it sounds to me like they are. If that small one is in their company, how much does he know, Sonic?"

The hedgehog fell silent and scratched his quills, glancing back to the door.

"We were wrong to hire Datastream to take out the Chaotix," Gadget went on. "Those sleazy pirates have managed to worm their way in and turn them against us. Now all that information is out there for Mainframe to see. It was bad enough you went soft and let that rumor slip out in the first place."

Sonic flinched and narrowed his eyes at the wolf. Gadget met his glare head on and smirked.

"I think we need to get creative," he said. "Find out what that pirate can do. And if nothing, well… I think a little bait to our targets might be in order. I'll send a message out to the higher ups to put a reward out for Datastream and… what is that other pirate's name?"

"I believe he's called Rough, Doc."

"Him, too. And crank up the Chaotix bounty a tad." Gadget rose to start gathering up his paperwork. "In the meantime, take your little buddy and track down Infinite. Preferably before he destroys all of Mainframe. I think we've had enough casualties, don't you?"

Sonic nodded and zipped from the room, kicking up loose bits of paper into the air. Gadget stared after him then idly pawed at his scarred ear. Then with a sigh he returned to his tidying.

"I'll make you pay for this, jackal."

...

Sonic tapped at the door to the little house then tried the handle. Locked. A soft whir resounded above his head and he looked up into the lens of a small camera. He flashed a toothy grin and a peace-sign, then the locks snapped and clicked inside the door. He tried the handle again, and the door opened smoothly inward.

Tails hunched over his workbench with his back to Sonic, but T-Pup let out a playful bark. Sonic paused to pat the robot between the ears.

"How ya doin' buddy?" he said.

T-Pup barked again and wagged his antenna of a tail.

Sonic joined Tails side beside the bench. "So what are you working on?"

The fox looked up from his work and raised his sniper rifle in one hand. His expression was blank, but he nodded to it anyway.

"Ah." Sonic grimaced. "Still pretty bitter that merc shot it outta your hand then?"

Tails returned to his work and T-Pup let out a low growl.

"It won't happen again." Tails voice was void of emotion. "I've installed an automatic shield. When any weapon fire comes my way, the rifle will detect it and block the bullets."

"You can do that?" Sonic gasped.

"I can do anything."

T-Pup panted and wagged his tail slowly.

"If it's that simple," Sonic said, "then why haven't all GUN agents got them installed?"

"Because I just invented it." Tails looked up at him again. "Besides, it's a prototype. And it's only meant to protect my hands."

"So you can't make it big enough to protect all of you?"

"No." Tails finished screwing the nut back into the side of his rifle. "Too heavy and clunky. But at least they can't disarm me so easily next time."

"Well, you're gonna want to bring it with you."

The fox stood back from his workbench and met Sonic's eyes, prompting him to continue.

"Gadget's sent us after Infinite," Sonic explained. "We need to track him down and bring him back."

T-Pup whimpered and moved closer to Tails.

"Not possible," he said.

"Don't be like that," said Sonic. "There's just the two of us. We can be sneaky, unlike an army. Take him by surprise."

"Fair point." The fox paused and inclined his head on one side. "Does Gadget want him alive?"

"Of course he does."

Tails shrugged and moved towards the weapon rack beside the door. "Then we don't want a rifle, do we?"

"I'd take it," said Sonic. "You can always shoot to wound, not kill."

"With his regeneration rate, that would be fairly pointless."

"Huh, I hadn't considered that. Come on, Sonic." He smacked a palm to the side of his head.

Tails examined him for a moment, his blank expression making it all the more uncomfortable.

"When did you last sleep?" he asked.

Sonic shrugged. "Two nights ago? I've… not really had the chance."

T-Pup let out a long whine and brushed up against his legs. Sonic stooped to rub between his ears.

"Then you're not exactly going to be in top form, are you?" said Tails.

"I'm more worried about the affect this is having on Aya."

Sonic paused and hugged an arm around himself, staring at the barricaded door. The sheer thought that Gadget's warped plan could cost him yet more time with his wife sickened him. But it was safer to just comply with the wolf's plans. He'd seen what GUN could do to those who went against them.

"Sleep is a necessity," said Tails. "If you go out like that, you're only going to jeopardize the mission."

Sonic rolled his eyes and returned to petting T-Pup. The little dog robot wagged its tail, but concern was written all over its mechanical eyes.

"I've worked on less sleep," said Sonic.

"But this isn't just your run-of-the-mill criminal," said Tails. "Nor is he a GUN spy. He's an alien with unfathomable powers we don't yet understand. You saw what he did."

"Are you more concerned for the mission or for me?"

T-Pup stuck out its metal tongue to lap at Sonic's gloved hand.

"Concern is irrelevant," said Tails.

Sonic clenched his jaw and dug his fingers into his knee.

"I suggest you get a nap at least," said Tails. "I'll wake you in a couple of hours. Then we can go over a plan of action."

Sonic rose and tried to catch his friend's eye, but the fox was too occupied with the maintenance of his tranquilizer gun.

"You're not gonna give me any choice, are you?" he asked.

Tails shook his head.

Sonic let out a sigh of defeat and sought out Tail's bedroom. It was the only place to lie down, given the rest of his small house was a greasy workshop and the bare necessities. He perched on the edge of the lumpy mattress and caught T-Pup's wide robot eyes by the door. The robot chihuahua beamed when he noticed it and pottered into the room, kicking the door shut behind it. It stopped at his feet and sat down, metal tongue lolling from its mouth and spindly tail beating the wooden floor like a cartoon mutt.

Sonic gave it a weak smile. "GUN sure have ruined us, hey, buddy?"

He spoke quietly enough so as not to alert Tails. He didn't need one of his robotic lectures.

T-Pup's smile fell and it let out a low whine. Sonic was convinced if the bot could cry, it would.

"Aya's gonna be mad when she finds out I won't be home again tonight," he went on. "At this rate I'll never even see my daughter grow up."

T-Pup nuzzled his leg and made a strange squeaky sound he'd not heard it make before. He wondered if it was an attempt at speech.

"I know," said Sonic. "I'll ring her later. Maybe wake me up before Tails does?"

T-Pup nodded once.

Sonic sighed and kicked his feet up onto the bed. Then he let out a yawn and fell back into the pillow. "Well, I suppose I'd better get that nap. Crime doesn't catch itself."

T-Pup yipped and he cracked an eye back open. The dog stood on its hind legs with its feet on the edge of the mattress. Its eyes were warm and questioning.

Sonic smiled at it and winked. "Just a glass of water? Thanks, bud."

T-Pup panted happily and skipped from the room, tail wagging.

...

Tsunami tossed the iron muzzle into the bridge's trash chute, drawing the eyes of the Chaotix and Decode. Espio lay sprawled in Crash's chair with his feet up on the control deck. Vector cocked an eyebrow and glanced over her shoulder into the hallway.

"So you unmuzzled the maniac?" he asked.

"Of course." She wiped her hands down the front of her dress and flopped into her seat. "It wouldn't have been fair to leave him muzzled. I don't agree with those torture devices anyway."

"Whoever invented those things needs to have their head checked," Decode said without looking up from his work.

"So you removed it because you thought it was cruel?" Vector scoffed and waved towards his computer. "It was apparently necessary. He bites! It's in his records!"

"If he bites any of us, I'll box his ears," said Tsunami. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to bust him out so he can 'help you overthrow Eggman'. What, would you have just left him restrained?"

"No, I…" Vector scratched beneath his headphones and exchanged glances with Espio.

"I think it's a bit late to have doubts," said the chameleon. "He's out. He's on this ship. Let's just… make the most of it."

Tsunami groaned and slid down her seat. "Do you guys never think things through?"

"Yes," said the two pirates.

"But you saw what he did," Vector went on. "He were ruthless!"

"Yes, and we survived because of him!" Tsunami snapped.

"It were terrifying. I ain't never seen nothin' like it," said Vector. "But… if he's on our side, then we stand a fighting chance. Right?"

"And he's out of GUN's hands," said Espio. "That was the main point after all."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes at the space pirates. "You sound like you'd put him back if it was an option."

Vector closed his eyes and shook his head. "Not at all. I don't trust GUN with him. If it weren't for that control harness they're makin', I don't think I would have given this cause a second thought. There ain't no way I'm goin' back on myself now." He leant forward and placed both hands on the control deck to steady himself. "It's just… how do you reason with someone like that?"

"With words."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes at him. As much as she agreed, the pirate's sudden change of attitude grated on her. What would they have done if they'd been doing this without Datastream? Would they have panicked and dropped Infinite somewhere in Mainframe? Just left him to his own devices? Or would they have done something foolish and gotten themselves slaughtered? Whatever the case, she found herself wondering why she even cared. As soon as they were back in Pulse City, the Chaotix were leaving her ship and taking the maniac with them. It would be out of her hands.

She gave a quick glance around the bridge and tutted. "Where's the bee?"

"Helpin' your brother lock up Rough," said Vector.

"Although I think it's more of an excuse to explore your ship," added Espio.

"And it's awesome!" Charmy buzzed back into the bridge with Crash in tow. "So shiny and big! It makes ours look like a peanut!"

Tsunami craned her neck around to talk to her brother over the back of her seat.

"How is our little stalker?" she asked.

"Don't you mean your stalker?" Crash shooed Espio from his seat and fell down into it. "He isn't happy but he didn't complain. I think he's just glad to be alive."

"What do you plan on doing with him?" Espio asked.

Tsunami met the pirate's gold eyes then shrugged. "I don't know. It feels kinda wrong to turn him in." She paused and flicked out her computer to idly browse it. "Besides, he's not exactly one of Mainframe's 'most wanted', so why make the effort? I think I'll just toss him out onto Pulse City docks."

"Check again." Crash turned his computer to face her.

Tsunami's eyes widened as she glanced over it. Rough's photo glared out at her, and beneath it a reward for ten thousand credits. Something gnawed in her gut and she scoffed and turned back to her own computer.

"Still isn't worth it." The words had only been intended to cover up that awful feeling. Why did turning him in even bother her? He was just a pirate.

"Besides, I wouldn't take the risk," said Decode. "We turn him into GUN, they'll also toss us into an electric-fueled cell. We'd be toast."

Tsunami's spine stiffened. She brought up the page for Mainframe's wanted list, each tap cranking up a feeling of dread. Sure enough, in the newly listed section, she found herself staring back at her own photo, along with Crash's and Decode's.

Forty thousand credits. Each. The same applied for the Chaotix.

"Funny how they've not put up Infinite's photo, eh?" said Vector.

"Oh, his is out there," said Espio as he tucked away his own computer. "But it's only advertised to GUN agents."

"He's right," said Decode. "Here. Have a look."

"You haven't seriously hacked into GUN's files again?" Tsunami groaned.

"Of course," he said. "It won't make an ounce of difference now, will it?"

He beckoned them over, and they all gathered around the bush baby. There on the screen was Infinite's scowling mugshot. Reward, one hundred and fifty thousand credits. 'Danger' was printed above his head. And below it, 'Wanted for Reasons of Scientific Interest'.

"Interesting," said Crash.

"Like those black hedgehog posters all over Pulse City," said Charmy. "Why do GUN want science?"

"We already know why they want Infinite, Charmy," said Espio.

His golden eyes narrowed at the picture and he took a step back. Tsunami glanced back at him, wondering if he was eating those words about the black hedgehog being 'bait' for pirates.

"I'm beginning to wonder if Crash's worries were right," said Tsunami. "Maybe GUN are wanting to build some kind of super-powered army."

"What can I say?" Crash shrugged. "I'm a genius."

"Oh great!" Vector threw his arms in the air and pulled up the nearest seat. "Now I'm even more anxious!"

"I know how you feel," said Espio. "This has just put this entire thing into perspective. If GUN do manage to get both of these people and turn them into weapons, what happens to Mainframe?"

"It becomes one giant ruin."

The rough voice drew their eyes to the door. Infinite stood dripping with water, scowling at the flashing lights along the bridge's walls and control deck. Tsunami stifled a gasp when she spotted the large, triangular red gem embedded beneath his long white ruff. He shook out his fur and Tsunami lifted her arms against the explosion of water droplets.

"We have fur driers for a reason!" she snapped.

"Forget it." He stepped into the bridge, leaving wet footprints. "Those abominations make me look like a plush toy."

He placed both hands on the control deck and peered out of the windscreen at the fluffy clouds.

"The way you said that makes me think you know they want to turn you into a weapon," said Tsunami.

Infinite grunted, not taking his eyes off the skyscape.

"So… what, did they tell you?" asked Crash.

The jackal fired a sideways glance through his golden eye. "Not exactly."

"I don't follow." Tsunami narrowed her eyes and leant back on Decode's chair. "If they didn't tell you, how did you find out?"

A sly grin spread across Infinite's muzzle and he turned back to the clouds. "How high up are we?"

"Approximately forty thousand feet," said Decode. "Although we can go a lot higher."

Infinite chuckled and pushed himself back from the windscreen. "Perfect. I can work with that."

He turned and sprinted from the bridge. Tsunami leapt back from Decode's chair and took off after him with the Chaotix and Crash behind her. They found Infinite by the airlock, messing with the panel beside it.

"What do you think you're doing?" she squeaked.

"That scientist freak wanted to turn me into a weapon," he said. "You lot want to use me to stop Eggman." He turned to look at them, not taking his hand off the control panel. "I don't work for anyone. I can destroy Eggman and this whole freaky world without your help."

Tsunami's jaw went slack, but Crash echoed the words swirling in her head.

"Wait, what?"

Infinite grinned again and red energy crackled around his hand, blasting the control panel.

"So you're just going to jump out of a flying ship?!" she snapped.

"Exactly."

"Are you nuts?" said Crash. "You'll die!"

"Oh I doubt a little leap from forty thousand feet will hurt me." A smirk tugged at Infinite's lips. "I'd stay back if I were you," he purred. "It would be a shame to kill you after you helped me escape. But any alliance you were hoping for ends here. One step, and you'll meet the same fate waiting for the glorious Eggman." He spat the last two words, increasing his attack to blast the control panel clean off the wall. "You might want to hold onto something."

The airlock swirled open, and his maniacal laughter was drowned out by the roar of wind. He was sucked clean from the ship, vanishing into the clouds. The air tugged at Tsunami, dragging her towards the airlock. A firm hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into a warm body. Espio trapped her between himself and the safety rail, and she and her allies clutched on for dear life as the frantic, icy wind whipped at their fur and scales. She screwed her eyes shut and roared towards the bridge.

"Decode! Do something!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth, she crashed down onto the floor. She cracked her eyes open, wondering what on earth the bush baby had just done. A soft tap on her shoulder drew her eye back to the airlock. Espio stood over her, fixated on the closed spiral door. The control panel was back on the wall, no sign of any damage. She pushed herself up and examined it, just to be sure.

"What…" She licked her dry lips and turned back to the closed airlock. "What just…"

Her vision turned fuzzy and she leant against it as her breath came in quick bursts. Crash placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her, yet it still trembled like her racing heart.

"What on earth have we just unleashed on Mainframe?" he asked.

She pushed herself back from the door, desperately trying to still her frantic breathing. The Chaotix weren't in a better state. Espio was struggling to hold up Vector who appeared about to faint. Something was nagging at her, and it wasn't Infinite's threat to destroy Mainframe. She narrowed her eyes at the Chaotix.

"Who told him you wanted his help to remove Eggman?" she growled.

"Don't look at me," said Espio.

Vector managed to shake his head and glance up at Charmy. The bee shook his head so hard it became a blur.

Then where had that come from? She ran a hand over her scales and stepped away from Crash.

"Well he's out there now," she said. "So unless we want our world reduced to scraps, we need to track him down and stop him! Have we still got that collar?"

"Yes," said Espio.

She narrowed her eyes at the ninja. "Is it still in one piece?"

"I believe so, but I can check it over."

"Question." Vector straightened and adjusted his headphones. "How exactly are we gonna chase after him? He's on the ground, goodness knows where, with all that power. We don't even know what he can do, outside of warping reality."

Tsunami sighed and stared past the crocodile. So they'd need to track him. For that, they'd need a good tracker. Not to mention a lot of fire power. But the latter could wait. First things first.

Who did she know who could track someone without placing a device on their target?

She narrowed her eyes into a glare and hissed through her teeth. "Oh, I can't believe I'm even considering this."

She slipped from the airlock and made her way towards the brig.

"You have a plan?" Vector asked.

"It might not be a good one," she called back, "but it's all we've got for now."

The brig was a quiet and almost eerie place, filled with empty cells. All but one. A shimmering forcefield extended out from either wall, slightly distorting the blue and white skunk hunched over the bench-like bed. He fixed a crimson eye on her and the hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said. "Miss me?"

"You said you tracked my ship," she said. "Think you can track someone on the ground?"

He clicked his tongue and straightened to meet her eyes. "Who you missin'?"

That smirk told her he knew the answer. He was just toying with her. Sat in her brig, knowing full well she could turn him in. That his life was in her hands. How could he so brazenly toy with her? The corner of her mouth twitched, flashing a brief canine.

"That guy we busted out of GUN's cells," she said. "He's escaped my ship."

Rough let out a long whistle and leant back on his hands. "So you lost a dangerous criminal?"

"Yes, and I'm going to need your help to track him." She said each word through clenched teeth.

Rough closed his eyes and chuckled. "What's in it for me?"

"Your life," she said.

He met her eyes again and his smirk melted away. "So you were gonna turn me in?"

"Your price has just gone up to ten thousand credits," she said. "I could use ten thousand."

His eyes turned impossibly wide and once again the sheer thought twisted her stomach. He hadn't done anything. He'd just had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught up in something he'd merely poked his nose into out of sheer curiosity.

"You help us track him down," she said slowly, "then I'll let you go back to your miserable life in Pulse City."

"Oh, my life weren't miserable, sweetheart." He pushed himself up from the bed and moved towards the forcefield. "But it is now."

She scowled at him, but he didn't flinch.

"That ain't a done deal," he said.

She let out a sigh and inclined her head on one side. "Then what do you want?"

"My brother back."

She blinked at him, jaw going slack. But he didn't break eye contact.

"He's with GUN," she said flatly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "So? You busted out that jackal. Why not Tumble?"

"We only just barely got away," she said. "And I'm not usually in the business of breaking out space pirates."

"Mercs ain't usually in the business of messin' in GUN's plans, either."

She grimaced and screwed her eyes shut. "Anything else, please."

"No."

The pain in his voice snapped her eyes back open.

"I ain't complete without my brother," he said. "It's him or no deal."

She stared back at him, watching as tears glistened in his eyes.

"I can't," she said.

"Please, Nami… They'll kill him…"

She screwed her eyes shut again and placed a hand over the control panel. The forcefield vanished with an audible 'whoosh'. A warm hand clasped her shoulder an an affectionate squeeze and she met Rough's eyes again. Those tears were still there but they'd softened slightly.

"So you'll-"

She snapped her head away from him to scowl at the floor. "Shut up and get to the bridge before I change my mind."

He released her and made for the door. She seriously feared she was going to regret this decision. She hesitated briefly as she mulled over the recent events that had led up to this catastrophe, before following after his bushy tail.

She joined the skunk on the bridge and he leant on the control deck to peer from the windscreen. After what had just happened, she half expected him to make the same decision Infinite had. But instead, he stood back and turned to face her.

"If we're gonna track him," he said, "I'm gonna need his chip details."

She blinked a few times and stared at him. "Why on earth-"

"Can't track what I can't see." Rough shrugged, drawing nods of agreement from Espio and Vector. "On the ground, he'd probably leave a trail you could see from the nearest space station. And I'm just goin' off what I saw during the jail break. But from this height, I need his chip details. If I were to guess, GUN'll be trackin' him the same way."

"He's not wrong." Decode clacked away at his computer. "GUN tag all their criminals. It's against the law to trail your bob-standard innocent civilian, but if you end up in their cells they add a tracking code to keep tabs on you."

Crash frowned and folded his arms. "I knew they did that, but I thought they removed them once they'd done their time."

Vector snorted and swiped a paw over his long muzzle. "Shows what you GUN-kissin' mercs know about your employers."

Tsunami flashed a canine but bit back the urge to clobber the crocodiles headphones off. Rough just laughed and stepped closer to her.

"Well, if we're gonna find it," he said, "we need a hacker."

"I'm on it," said Decode.

The skunk's eyes widened and he joined the bush baby by his chair. Tsunami stared at the back of his head as something nagged at the back of her mind. She frowned and shifted her weight to one leg.

"If you can't track someone you can't see," she said slowly, "then how did you track our cloaked ship?"

"Easy," said Rough. "Check yer glove."

The pangolin stiffened and stared down at her gloved hands. The brief memory of him brushing up against her in the bar crossed her mind and she reached into her right cuff. A flat, fabric strip no different to a clothing tag was stuck inside. Soft enough to not even alert her to its presence. On the sticky side, a tiny green chipboard pattern could be seen woven into the fabric.

She fixed livid blue eyes on Rough's grinning face. "You sneaky little…"

He laughed again and struck the back of Decode's chair. "What can I say? I didn't wanna lose track of ya."

Vector chuckled and gave Rough a wink. "Smooth, Romeo."

"Got it!" Decode shifted to the side to allow Rough to see his screen. "GUN really need to crank up their frostwalls. That was pitifully easy to get through."

"Yeah, for you," Crash scoffed as he fiddled with his spike cuff.

"I tried to teach you to hack," said Decode. "You're the one with the attention span of a newly hatched flicky."

Rough had pulled out his own computer and punched in the seven digit code. With a grin, he kicked himself back from Decode's chair and rejoined Tsunami's side.

"I've got him," he said. "He's in Central City, making a beeline for Station Square."

"Where are we?" she asked Decode.

The bush baby poked at his navigation screen. "We're currently hovering over the Beatdrop Capital."

Tsunami exchanged startled glances with the Chaotix.

"So he's miles away from us!" Espio gasped.

"How did he get to the center of Mainframe so quickly?!" Tsunami dashed towards her chair. "Turn the ship around! We're gonna have to be quick, or there might be nothing left of Central City by nightfall."

"Unless GUN beats us to it," said Rough.

He was leaning against the arm of Tsunami's chair. She tried to catch his eye but he was too busy with his tracker.

"Why did you have to say that?" she snapped.

He shrugged. "It's true though, ain't it?"

Tsunami clenched her teeth and leant back as Crash steered the ship a full one-eighty.

"You might wanna grab a seat and strap yourselves in," he said. "Because we're about to hit the highest speed we can travel in the atmosphere."

...

**Please R&R! =D**


	6. PW Chapter 6

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D If any of you are on the Sonic Amino, I post there as Mad Brit Gamer. I have some supplementary material that I'm slowly posting there, and hope to get the worldbuilding stuff up in the near future!**

Chapter Six

Pink mist swirled beyond manicured rose bushes and Infinite climbed out of it, beating down his front. Not that the pink mist actually clung to him, but you never know. His nose twitched at the fragrant flowers, but movement beyond them drew his eye. Children running back and forth kicking a ball, and a few feet away beneath a tree sat two little girls stringing together daisy chains. His lip curled as he took it all in. The wrought iron fence with its curling vine-like pattern. The cobbled path cleaving a way through pristine flower beds. Trees filled with singing birds and chittering squirrels.

A park.

Not exactly what he'd wanted. That pink mist was a completely new thing to him. Something that had kicked in when he was plummeting towards the ground, warping him to a random part in the city below. He had absolutely no control over where it took him, despite how much he tried.

Well, at least he was away from the staring faces filling the busy main streets and market places. Prying eyes fixing on his mismatched eyes and the giant sparkling ruby in his chest. Expressions that had turned from curiosity to fear when GUN agents had exploded from alleys helicopters to home in on him. He'd ran, until he opted to warp himself in that crazy pink cloud to another random location.

Now he was out of sight he could finally try to get a handle on his powers. Using them took a lot of mental and physical energy, and all it took was a small distraction to break his illusion like fine glass. He needed them if he was going to stay off GUN's radar. Then there were those images flashing through his mind. A confusion of faces and text. It had happened a lot during his first few days in GUN's cell, but the sheer amount of stress had stifled it. Now he at least had a chance to find out what it was.

He fell to his haunches and tried to tune out the chaos in the park. Focus all his attention on those fleeting images. They became clearer, separated out like magazine panels or television screens. Many of them moved. A dainty otter cleaning dishes as the focus zoomed in on the detergent's label. The face of a girl deemed missing. A lop-eared rabbit standing outside an office block as she spoke into a camera.

Infinite let out a chuckle as he came back out of all the images.

"It's the interweb?" He brushed back his mane from his eyes and leant back on his hands. "Oh, now that is interesting. I didn't know the Phantom Ruby could do that…"

No… maybe it wasn't the Phantom Ruby. Hadn't GUN said something about him possessing alien DNA? Something that allegedly aided his regeneration? Then there was something else he'd overheard. 'Chaos Network'. He narrowed his eyes at the grass between his bare feet and frowned. It was all very confusing. But he didn't need or want their help. Not as if they'd even ever offer it. They'd been afraid of him, and with good reason.

Gadget's face crossed his mind and Infinite pulled back his lips from his canines. He clenched a clump of turf in his left hand and tugged it free, crushing it until the wolf faded once again from his mind. Then he pushed himself up, dusting damp soil from his fur and pads.

The familiar drone of a propeller beat against his eardrums and his fur bristled along his spine. He fixed his good eye on the sky and a low growl left his throat. A helicopter circled overhead as three figures decked out in SWAT gear clung to a neon ladder. How did they keep finding him?!

Well, there went any opportunity to practice. What was he to do? Running clearly wasn't good enough, and he didn't have enough control over his powers to wipe out large chunks of a city just to eradicate a few nuisance soldiers. He needed a Plan B.

He scanned over the occupants of the park once more, noting a tiger reading over a newspaper. A neon green bar was pinned in his left ear, and his outfit of a waistcoat, fingerless gloves and heavy boots were all suitably neon and black. It made his yellow tiger stripes stand out like a sore thumb. That was it. Infinite stood out. He needed to blend in.

Crimson energy surrounded his body, pulsing in the air like a techno beat. It drew a few curious ears, but as it fizzled out, so had he. He strolled out from behind the rosebush as a mink dressed from head to foot in yellow and black spiked apparel. But as he made for the gate, the SWAT team dropped to the grass and took off after him.

Infinite cursed under his breath, dropping his illusion. Guns clicked as red sniper lights danced over his black fur. They fired, but all they struck was mist. Once again, Infinite found himself on a busy street, crouching amid a mob of screaming teenagers. He ducked out from between them and streaked towards the nearest alley, diving behind a yellow trash skip. He stood with his back pressed against the cold stone wall, gasping as he searched the street. Yet more helicopters beat the sky, and red dots danced along the walls of the main street. Two of the teenagers broke from their mob, shouting something that was drowned out amid the panicked screaming of the city's residents.

How were they doing this? How did they keep finding him?

Infinite closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall. It wasn't the city's inhabitants. No one in the park had seen him. Did he give off some kind of alien beacon that they could hone in on? His eyes snapped open as he recalled his first days in Mainframe. Waking up on a bed, strapped down, as scientists probed at him. They'd injected something into his arm.

He flashed a canine and reached his claws up to his left arm. He could still feel it. Something hard, plastic and pill-shaped. Was that how they were tracking him?

A dark shadow blocked out the narrow alley and Infinite locked eyes with a muscular cat. A red dot flickered over Infinite's chest and he bared his teeth. So he had to flee again? He ducked and vanished into mist, reappearing just outside that office block he'd seen in his mind. The rabbit reporter screamed and Infinite ducked out of the way of the cameras, scrambling on all-fours as he desperately tried to escape the crowd. He straightened up and bolted, panting, into yet another alley. Then he dug his claws into his arm, grimacing as he prised the pill-shaped object free. A translucent glass cylinder with a green chipboard inside. He tossed it amid the overflowing trash bags and leapt from the alley, casting another illusion about himself. Not the mink this time. They'd seen that. They'd know it was him in an instant. So he opted instead for a squirrel wearing a neon-green chipboard-print shirt.

No warping this time. He'd just have to stroll quickly and hope he managed to avoid GUN. The helicopters were still circling, but he tried not to focus on them. To not give himself away. Footsteps exploded behind him and he tensed, straining not to look back. They stopped, and he twitched an ear in their direction. He took a left bend in the road and glanced back towards the alley. Five people in SWAT gear, staring confused into the mouth of the alleyway, guns trained on trash bags.

Foiled.

Infinite chuckled to himself and strolled calmly into the thick of the city, silently rejoicing in his triumph over the GUN SWAT team.

His arm had already healed, leaving no blood trail in his wake. Yet it still caked his right hand. He idly licked at it as he searched the mob of frantic shoppers and business men as they flooded out of a subway. Various colourful vehicles zoomed up and down the streets, not a wheel between them. Blue or white LED lights stretched across their bases as they hovered several inches above the tarmac road. Neon billboards lit up the streets, advertising various foods, eateries, games and other entertainment. It was a far-cry to the grungy feel of Mobius. But Infinite couldn't help but wonder if it had always been this way since he'd entered. How much of this neon wonderland was down to Eggman's influence?

His illusion began to flicker and he strained to control it. But it had already drawn curious eyes. A bear stared at him from the other side of the road, and a look of utter terror spread across his face. Infinite broke eye contact and caught sight of his right hand. His heart flipped as he realised he'd begun to take on the visage of the bear. He muttered under his breath, frantically trying to draw back the illusion of the fictitious squirrel as he searched for somewhere to hide.

This wasn't going to be easy. His powers were exhausting rapidly. Oh, how he hated feeling so weak. If he was going to blend in, he needed a disguise. Anything.

He ducked into another alleyway and crouched beside an overflowing trash can that smelled alarmingly like rotting citrus fruit. He let his illusion drop and lowered his head into his hands. Maybe he shouldn't have bailed on his rescuers like that? A couple of days to practice his skills and he wouldn't be struggling like this.

He parted his fingers to peer out at the busy street. A voice reached his ears and he looked past the crowd towards a news stand. A beaver waved a hand, calling out to the commuters to buy that morning's newspaper. But the stand sold more than just news. Magazines. Infinite frowned at them. Magazines… comics, gaming, entertainment… fashion. Fashion?

Hmm… that was something he could use. But if he broke into a shop to steal an outfit, that would only draw more attention to him. Find the jackal in the exact suit he'd stolen. It would be a pointless and ridiculously risky endeavor.

An idea sparked in his mind and he reached out for the Chaos Network. Fashion was something that might actually help him. If he looked like he blended into this world, he might have a far easier time staying off GUN's radar.

Various fashion websites fluttered through his mind, primarily shops. HoneySuckle, Rose Designs, CyberFruit… He screwed his eyes shut as pain radiated between his ears and he clasped a hand to his head.

It was too exhausting.

He stood up, panting once again, and cracked his gold eye open to fix on the news stand. Dread bubbled up inside him as he realised he'd have to do this the manual way. Bringing back that squirrel image, he trotted across the street towards the beaver, ignoring his offer to sell him that day's news.

Infinite's eyes flew over the various magazines until they landed on one with a golden cat on the front. 'Honey's New Line Rocks This Summer' was printed on it. He scooped it up and flicked through the pages, hoping desperately he'd find something that he could actually use.

"Hey, Mum, look!"

Infinite glanced to his right as a little mouse no older than ten pointed at him, all the while tugging at her mother's sleeve.

"It's Honey!" squeaked the mouse.

Infinite glanced down at himself again, slowly realising he'd taken on the image of the cat on the magazine's cover. He looked back up at the mouse beaming at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could leave her mouth Infinite flashed his sharp canines and hissed.

The mouse squealed and clutched her mother's arm, tears sparkling in the corners of her large eyes. Her mother frowned at him and hugged her daughter to her chest. But she said nothing, instead steering the youngster away from both him and the news stand.

Infinite chuckled and turned back to his magazine, struggling to draw back the visage of the squirrel. The image around his body began to pixelate into glitchy squares, and Honey the Cat had adopted a bushy yellow tail.

As he turned the page, a large advert graced him. 'How Rose Designs is the Upcoming Fashion Trend'. Infinite cocked an eyebrow. It didn't look that impressive. Jeans decked out with pink flowers. Jackets with the odd neon cuff and cartoony print. But what did stand out was the declaration that it was 'new'. Not to mention the designer was from Central City, and his image was rapidly failing.

He deposited the magazine and turned, freezing like a rabbit in a car's headlights. The crowds had come to a halt, staring at his flickering form. It began to rapidly change as he scanned over the various faces, some of which were turning pale. Somewhere deep in the mob he heard the tell-tale sign of someone fainting.

Infinite turned tail and fled into the nearest back alley, stumbling over a trash bag. His right foot landed in something wet and he grimaced, shaking his foot to dislodge a banana peel and a few drops of what he desperately hoped were the fresh dregs of a commuter's morning coffee.

He paused in the boarded up doorway to some former cafe and rubbed at his muzzle. He desperately needed to find this Rose person if he was going to stand any chance at blending in. Once that was out of the way, he could practice his abilities in peace. Then he could finally get his revenge on Eggman, and that awful Gadget. Hey, why not the entirety of Mainframe while he was at it?

He brought up the Chaos Network again, searching specifically for Rose Designs. Shop after shop after shop. As easy as it was to narrow down something specific, he felt he was missing something when it came to selecting a particular page. Pain throbbed in his head again and he dropped the network, staggering back into the wooden door. It creaked slightly under his weight and he tensed, pulling back from it for fear of it caving in completely.

Try again.

He screwed his eyes shut as he scoured the pages, finally stumbling across what looked like the designer's official web page. Contact information. That was all he wanted.

Yes… Central City. His eyes snapped open as a grin spread across his muzzle, and he turned his eyes back to the main street. As far as he was aware, this was Central City. The designer lived close to Station Square. All he needed was a sign, then he could track them down.

But first, he needed a rest.

He turned back to the boarded up door and inclined his head on one side. Rotting wood straining against the nails that held it in place. An abandoned building wouldn't exactly be a terrible place to hide. He pushed on it, feeling it shift slightly. Then he gave it a hefty kick. The wood exploded in a shower of damp splinters, peppering his clean fur. He muttered under his breath as he dusted himself down, then turned to the gaping dark entrance. It stunk of mildew and rot, with the faint smell of old coffee beans lingering amongst it.

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. It wasn't too dark. Faint light leaked in through the gaps in the boarded up windows. It was sparse save for a dusty, grimy counter and long rows of sofa-like seats along the right wall. Each plush cushion was damp to the touch, so he opted for curling up on the old floor instead. But sleep wasn't something that came easily to him.

Boredom set in swiftly and he clawed at the floor, trailing a pattern along it as he waited for the light to wane. Hopefully, by nightfall he'd have his strength back. Once he was done with his idle doodling, he decided to inspect the old kitchen. Nothing but empty boxes and the tell-tale signs of a rat infestation. He could almost feel the germs breeding in his fur.

He found himself looking for some way to clean it all up, but when he tested the tap all that came out was a flurry of rust and yellowing water before it stopped entirely. The stench of egg rapidly filled the kitchen, choking his lungs. He turned from it, wafting his muzzle, and resigned himself to sitting by the door. At least the air was slightly less dusty and stagnant.

To kill the time he had to resist the urge to mess around with his abilities. But it wasn't easy. Small illusions, the odd scour of the Chaos Network. Between bursts, he tried to remember the books he'd once read. He still knew some of the old poetry by heart, so he recited some of it out loud, laughing at himself whenever he got something wrong.

When night finally fell, he beat the dust from his fur and stepped outside. The street lamps highlighted every inch of grime now occupying the white areas of his fur. It was surprising how much showed up on the black areas, as well. He removed a dusty cobweb from his tail with a remorseful sigh and turned his sights on the street. Still busy, although the news stand had long since closed.

He took in a steadying breath, desperate to bring up another disguise. But it refused to hold, instead providing nothing more than a static buzz of glitched pixels. Oh well. It would have to do.

He scampered from the alley, taking in the sights and sounds. It was a different world in the dark. Overworked commuters joined groups of young adults on their way to the subway stations, although the younger generation were likely heading for a night out as opposed to their beds. Club lights lit up the streets, filled with the noise of merriment and music.

He took in every sign he came across. Street names, store names, arrows pointing to various locations. Station Square was down the long street on his right. He took it blindly, moving as fast as he could through crowds of staring eyes and startled squeals. He paused only to glance over a map, confirming he was going in the right direction. It really wasn't far. He'd been perched on the edge of Station Square the whole time. He trailed a finger over the map, seeking out his location. Ninth Street. A toothy grin spread across his muzzle, buried under a fuzz of static. He committed the map to memory and followed it along the winding city roads.

Ninth Street was oddly quiet. Not a soul in sight. Unlike the main streets of Central City, this one didn't sport any clubs. No subway station. Just a little row of apartment blocks for those who wished for the convenience of living near a city station.

Infinite crouched on the opposite side of the road to the apartment block. Rose Designs was apparently on the fifth floor. He hadn't expected it to be an apartment. He'd expected some design studio. His plan had been to catch the designer unawares, or even lurk until they arrived the next day. It wasn't trivial to get inside. He didn't have a code for the door, nor a key.

He narrowed his eyes at the window. The fifth floor. Not even any light beyond it. What time was it, anyway? He dug his claws into the ground and he tried to figure a way in. There was only one way for it.

He lowered himself to the ground then sprang, propelling himself like a rocket. Glass exploded around his body and he stretched out his arms to cushion his landing. A squeal reached his ears and he looked up from his sprawled position on the pink carpet to meet the emerald eyes of a pink hedgehog. She cowered beneath a dressing table, brush in hand. A grin spread across Infinite's pixelated face. So this was Rose Designs?

She dropped the brush and whipped out a hammer from behind her back. Infinite's static dropped for a brief moment as he watched the hedgehog leap across the room towards him.

"How dare you just break into a lady's bedroom like that?!"

She lifted the hammer over her head with a roar.

Infinite frowned and rose up to his full height. He threw his hand towards her and her hammer became encrusted with skittering beetles. Her emerald eyes widened and she dropped it with a scream, scattering cockroaches across her bedroom floor. Infinite stepped over them, allowing that grin to return along with his cloud of static. The hedgehog crawled backwards on her bottom, back towards the shelter of her dressing table. He dropped down so he was level with her and reached out to place a finger beneath her chin. He tipped her head back and frowned. Her eyes widened as his image cycled between those of various GUN agents, lingering for a moment on a blue hedgehog.

"You don't look like much," he scoffed.

She trembled and clutched her arms around herself, too terrified to push him away.

"Please," she said. "If it's money or jewels you want, they're in my safe. I'll give you the code, just don't hurt me."

"Oh, it's not jewels I want," he crooned.

"Then…" Her eyes widened and sparkled with tears. "Oh no, please! I'd rather you just killed me!"

Infinite frowned for a moment, then his eyes shot wide open.

"What? No!" He stood up straight and took a step back from her. "Good grief, no. You're way too pink. Bleh!" He poked his tongue out to make his point and glanced over her open wardrobe.

"Then what do you want?" she gasped.

"You're a fashion designer, right?" He looked back down at her and raised an eyebrow.

She nodded and cowered further beneath her dressing table. It irritated him. If she went any further beneath it, he'd be forced to drag her out and pin her against the wall.

"I need you to make me a disguise," he said.

She stiffened and leant slightly back out of her hiding place. "You want me… to make you clothes?"

He gave one nod. "For free."

"I… don't think I can do that…"

"Why not?" he scoffed. "You're 'Rose Designs', right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then why can't you do it? You make clothes for a living!"

"Well… I can't see you," she said. "You're all… wobbly and… well, I can't get your size right if I can't measure you, can I?"

He stared down at her for a long moment, watching her tremble like a leaf. Measurements… So that meant she had to see him. She'd know exactly what he looked like. Before and after his disguise. That might be a problem.

"What are you?" Her voice wavered.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, letting the glitched pixels and static drop. She stared up at him, her mouth hanging open as she struggled to find words. Green eyes trailing over his body, the Phantom Ruby, then lingering on his face. The fur bristled along his spine under her probing gaze.

He pulled his lips back in a snarl. "Stop staring at me!"

She jerked her eyes away and ducked slightly further beneath her dressing table. Her fingers wound through her quills and she stuttered slightly.

"Okay, I can help you," she said. "But if I do, you need to promise you'll leave. Right away. And not come back."

Silence washed over the room as Infinite ran over her request.

"It's all I ask." Her voice trembled and she resisted the urge to look up at him. "Please. You frighten me…"

It was a simple request. He didn't much fancy sticking around in such a pink house with a pink girl. But was it really as simple as it sounded?

A smirk tugged at his lips and he shuffled a foot over her plush carpet. "Okay. I'll leave."

The hedgehog let out a sigh of relief and climbed out from beneath the dressing table.

"Then I suppose I'd better take your measurements," she said. "Erm… what do I call you?"

"That's not important," he said.

She sighed and smoothed out her red dress. "It is if you don't want a nervous wreck stitching your outfit together. It would at least break some ice?" She paused and licked her lips. "My name is Amy."

"Amy?" His lip curled and he glanced towards her closed door. A pink rose stared back at him. "Fine. Call me Infinite."

"That's… a strange name…"

He was getting a little tired of hearing that.

"Mind if I shorten it?" she asked.

He narrowed his eyes at her and she took a step back and cleared her throat.

"My studio is this way." She gestured towards the door.

When she opened it, he slipped out ahead of her into a wide living room. Just as pink as the bedroom had been. But it didn't stop there. The opposite door led to a studio half the size of the living room, filled with rails of clothes and mounds of fabric. Complete disarray in a migraine inducing explosion of colour. It set his fur on end. What on earth had he got himself into?

At least it smelled better than the moldy cafe.

...

The Tornado landed neatly on the flat roofs of a set of run-down shops. Sonic leapt nimbly over the gutter, dodging the ominous liquid leaking from the trash bags. The air reverberated as Tails and T-Pup drifted down beside him. Tails neatly unwound his twin tails and scanned over the narrow alley, while T-Pup retracted its propeller and sniffed the air.

"The tracker says he's here." Sonic looked past the blinking dot on his visor overlay to frown at the yellow skip. "I'd be careful, buddy. He might be in disguise."

Tails drew his tranquilizer gun and fixed its sniper light on the skip. The dot danced above T-Pup's head as it moseyed around the bottom of it, its eyes lighting up the dense shadows. Tails fired and a metal dart pinged off the skip's metal shell. T-Pup's antenna tail stood upright and it yelped. It turned its head back towards them and whined, ears and tail drooping.

Tails lowered his gun, unmoved by his robot dog. "It's just a trash skip."

"Huh." Sonic joined T-Pup's side and the small dog wagged its tail. "Then what's the tracker picking up?"

As if on cue, T-Pup hovered into the skip and began rummaging around like a half-starved fox. Sonic watched as various food waste and containers flew in all directions, deeply glad the robot had opted to be the one to scour through it all. Something hard struck the floor and bounced, and Tails stooped to pick it up. The fox frowned as he turned it in his fingers.

"A microchip," he said flatly.

Sonic offered his hand to take it then lifted it up to his eye. He grunted as the red dot on his overlay blinked rapidly.

"So he's removed it," he said. "Well that complicates things."

T-Pup's mechanical feet clattered on the ground and it skipped over to them, panting happily.

"We don't exactly have a means to track him now, do we?" Sonic handed the chip back to Tails. "I guess we'll just have to wait until someone panics and reports him, or he destroys something."

Tails shrugged and glanced over the alley. "I was expecting more destruction, I'm not gonna lie."

T-Pup yipped, pawing at their legs.

"That makes two of us," said Sonic.

Tails stooped to offer his hand to the robot dog. Sonic started slightly until he realised he was merely showing it the microchip. T-Pup nudged it with its nose, making a noise akin to snuffling. Then it yipped again and stood back, sniffing at the air. It turned, making a beeline for the end of the alley.

Sonic stared after it as Tails stood up straight.

"I didn't know it could do that," said Sonic.

"Really?" said Tails. "What good is a robot dog if it can't play 'bloodhound'?"

Sonic sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I often underestimate you, bud."

He drew his gun and followed after T-Pup with Tails in tow. The robot dog vanished through the remains of a shattered door. The stench of dust and mildew filled the air, with the faint traces of stagnant water. Light bounced across the floor and walls as T-Pup bounded towards the worn-out bar.

Sonic paused, glancing a pattern sketched onto the dusty floor. He trained the light on his visor onto it. Freshly drawn. A series of squiggles that resembled vines, trailing around a large heart. It reminded him of a tattoo design.

Light bounded over it as Tails and T-Pup rejoined him, the former giving the pattern a dismissive glance.

"He isn't here, either," said Tails. "But someone has been in here, and I'm going to guess it's our target."

T-Pup barked in agreement.

Sonic lowered his gun and looked down at the robot dog. "Any idea where he might have gone?"

T-Pup sniffed the air again, sneezed, then took off towards the door.

Sonic and Tails exchanged shrugs and followed the little dog. But something caught Sonic's eye by the door.

Screws and nails, plucked from the rotting wood. Each one caked in rust yet sparkled in places as if the rust had been scrubbed away by something. But that wasn't the most intriguing thing about it. They were arranged in two neat rows by size and type. Nails on the top, screws on the bottom.

"What the…"

Sonic felt a tap on his arm and he looked up into Tails' blue eyes.

"T-Pup has already gone on ahead of us," said the fox. "Come on, before we lose him."

Sonic gave the screws and nails one last glance before following after his team-mate. But they nagged at him.

T-Pup waited patiently at the mouth of the alley, its bright eyes lit up like a pair of headlights. When it spotted them it barked and turned, scurrying off in the direction of Station Square.

...

**Review Replies:**

**XtraXP - Woo! Pegboard Nerds are brilliant! I'm glad you're enjoying this. I am certainly open to suggestions, as this is a huge project formed of various stories. I've been working on Book 2, and have the prequel and a one-shot completed to post after Project Wreckingball is all uploaded! Thanks for reading =D**


	7. PW Chapter 7

**A/N - Thanks for all reviews, reads, faves and follows!**

**This was a fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoy reading! =D **

Chapter Seven

Amy was beginning to wonder if everything was just a bad dream. After she'd measured the strange jackal, he'd wandered off muttering about a shower. She'd been too scared to refuse him, instead waving him off and pointing him towards her bathroom. But everything was oddly quiet. It had been a long time since the water had turned off, and part of her wondered if she'd woken up in her studio after acting out the dream.

People didn't have jewels fused to their chests. They couldn't just distort their image. And they couldn't usually leap five floors to burst in through someone's bedroom window. Although, in Mainframe, it wouldn't be unusual to find someone who could. Sonic could run fast enough to run up a wall, and her old friend Knuckles could glide a fair distance. Even bust through a stone wall if he wanted to.

She stared at the pattern in her hand and sighed. It had been for a mask. Nothing requested to hide the jewel in his chest. She'd not even questioned it. She just wanted to get things over and done with as fast as possible, and the least she had to make the better. So she'd taken the task of designing a mask. Only one eye needed, given Infinite was blind in his right one. He'd wanted it to cover his entire face, but several sketches later she'd decided to step in with her own suggestion. But given she was beginning to question whether he was a figment of her own imagination, it looked so ridiculous now.

Her ear twitched in the silence and she looked up at the door. Was he even still in her house? Was she actually going insane in her loneliness? Insane enough to imagine such a fierce and terrifying individual?

She was about to drop everything to investigate when the door opened and the jackal strolled back in, carrying a jar of peanut butter under one arm while staring at a photo he'd plucked from somewhere. He flopped down at her small round table, brushing aside a basket of ribbons to make room for the over-sized jar of sandwich filling.

"Who's this blue spiky freak?" he turned the photo towards her.

Amy's spine stiffened. He'd been in her bedroom?! Her cheeks flushed and she bit back the desire to snap at the jackal. She didn't want to risk making him angry. Not after what he did to her hammer.

"Just a friend." She turned back to her pattern. "May I ask what you were doing in my room?"

Infinite tossed the photo onto the table, face down, and unscrewed the jar.

"Fixing the window," he said. "You had a pair of nosey GUN soldiers outside."

"Th-they're looking for you?"

"Oh yes." He stuffed his hand into the jar and scooped out a mound of peanut butter. "But they're gone now."

She shuddered as the question of their fate crossed her mind. But she didn't want to know the answer. She watched the jackal stuff his hand into his mouth, smearing peanut butter over his nose.

"Are you hungry or something?" she asked.

"Famished." He licked his nose and reached back into the jar.

"Would you… like some bread with that?" Amy asked. "It's more filling."

He shrugged and scooped out more spread. "Nope. It would only ruin it."

She grimaced as he licked the peanut butter off his fingers. "A spoon?"

He fixed his golden eye on her as he attempted to lick his hand clean.

She stifled a shudder and placed the pattern on the floor. "I need to show you this, before I get started."

He rose to join her, bringing along the peanut butter.

"I know you wanted a full mask," she explained. "But given you'd be reluctant to remove it, I thought it would be better if I left your jaw free."

He snorted and licked at his hand. "Fine. You're the professional, not me."

Amy couldn't help but feel he'd put extra emphasis on 'professional' just to irritate her. She brushed it off, along with the jackal.

"I'd better get to work then," she said. "Have a flick through those magazines for some ideas for style, while I grab some fabric."

She ducked behind the endless mountains of fabric and took in a steadying breath. Of course the idea of it all being a dream was too good to be true. Now not only did she have a mad man in her house, he was also potentially dangerous and being hunted down by GUN. That was why he wanted a disguise. To keep them off his tail. Well, once she'd finished kitting him out with a disguise, she'd be getting him off her tail. Maybe even contact GUN and let them know roughly where he was.

But wait… if she did that, wouldn't she get in trouble, too? She was, effectively, aiding his escape.

She plucked some white leather from the middle of a mountain of heavy duty fabric and glanced back through the gaps between the clothing rails. Infinite was back in his seat, flicking through her glossy fashion magazines. With his clean hand, she noted. The other one was receiving a thorough cleaning as he strove to consume what was left of the peanut butter. She shook her head and selected black and blue leather before ducking back out of her storage.

Infinite looked up with a start and a strange grunting sound came from his throat. He lifted the magazine in both hands and his eyes practically sparkled.

"This! This!"

Amy cautiously approached him to take the magazine. It was a club scene, focusing on the fashion trend university students adopted several years ago. Bright neon colours against black. Hair filled with all kinds of apparel to look like otherworldly futuristic dreadlocks. One young girl had her boots strapped together with a belt Amy hoped desperately was flexible enough to not trip her.

"You like this?" Amy looked up at the jackal, absolutely failing to mask her surprise.

A playful grin spread across his muzzle and he waved a sticky hand at the magazine. "It's perfect."

She sighed and returned to her design. "Well it's your outfit."

"Is there a problem?" His voice was laced with danger.

She froze and glanced back at him. "No. I just… I tend to do more girly things. You know. Flowers. Butterflies. Pinks and blues."

"So girly! Eurgh!" Infinite shuddered and screwed his eyes shut. "Don't you dare give me anything pink. There's enough of that in this house to satisfy me for a lifetime." He snapped his eyes back open and chuckled. "And I don't age, sugar."

"How… what?"

"They put it all down to Dark Arms DNA." He used air quotes then screwed the lid back onto the now empty jar.

No. No, she wasn't crazy enough to imagine all this. She shook her head and ducked back into her storage.

"I'll find some fabric suggestions," she said. "Then you can choose which ones you like."

"Ooh, I actually get a say in this?"

"Of course!" She lowered her voice and added, "Given you hate my original designs, you might as well."

That was the problem with being a designer. You didn't always get to stick to briefs you actually enjoyed. Oh well, she might as well enjoy it while she was at it. Maybe put her own spin on the strange cybergoth appearance he was wanting.

She rustled through her many drawers of bits and bobs, grabbing various items she'd put aside perchance she would ever need them. Ribbons, buttons, buckles, belts, hard plastics and bits of glass. Nothing sparkly. Nothing pink or blue. Colours that would contrast. Neons and blacks. At the back of one of her drawers she stumbled across some PVC piping she'd set aside for 'a time when it might be handy'. Well, now was as good a time as any.

She re-emerged, setting all the bits down and grouping them accordingly. Infinite abandoned the table to join her, crouching on the other side of her display.

"I was thinking leather for the gloves and boots," she said. "It's hard wearing and comfortable."

"Well, we don't want blue."

Infinite picked up the neatly folded blue leather and tossed over her clothes rails back into storage.

"Really?" Amy looked back at the fabric piles beyond the clothes. "I thought it matched your blue eye."

"It ain't blue by choice," he scoffed. "Why do you think I want to hide it?"

"I guess…"

He eyed over the two choices left. Black and white. All the while slowly nibbling on a claw.

"Might I suggest the white one?" said Amy.

He looked up at her and lowered his claw. "I was kinda thinking the same thing."

"Really?" She paused and scratched behind her ear. "That surprises me."

"Well, my old one was black." He shrugged. "And I don't want anything to do with Eggman." He paused and gazed up at the ceiling. "Maybe I should call myself Infinite-Nega?"

"I don't recommend it."

She tucked the black leather through the rails to join the blue one and placed the white one beside her. When she turned back, Infinite was going through all the bits and bobs she'd picked out.

"What's this?" He held up some red glass.

"Red plexiglass," she said. "I've had it set aside for years and never found a use for it. So I thought it would make a good lens for your mask's eye."

"Won't it make everything look red?"

"It's one way," she said. "To you, the world will look normal. But to everyone else, your eye will look all crazy and weird."

"I do like crazy and weird." He grabbed the plastic piping she'd found. "What on earth is this?"

"Fibre-optics tubing. Usually for protecting wires, but I thought it would make nifty cyber dreads."

He nodded his approval, setting it beside her with the white leather. Then his eye fell on the selection of belts. He picked up a red one and frowned at her.

"And this?" he asked.

"A belt?"

"And this is for…?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

He gestured to his own body. "I know what a belt does, but I don't wear pants!"

A small chuckle escaped her and she shook her head. "I know that. But a fashion designer can find more than one use for a belt."

He smirked at her over his claw, giving her a leering look that sent a chill down her spine. A strange grating noise rattled with his breathing and she wasn't entirely sure whether or not it was a laugh.

"I guess I picked the right one, then, didn't I?" he purred.

She turned back to her work, desperately trying to avoid his eyes. "Just… leave me to it, okay?"

"Okay."

He rose and vanished beyond the clothes, into her storage area. As she glanced back, she spotted him folding up the discarded blue leather. She let out a sigh and screwed her eyes shut, harshly berating herself for choosing a life in the city.

...

Tsunami released the ladder rung to drop down behind the train station. Shrouded in the shadows cast by a tall office block, she crouched beside the tracks as she waited for her allies. Rough dropped down beside her, followed by Crash and Espio. Tsunami had not been too happy to leave Decode alone with the other two Chaotix, but she knew the bush baby could hold his own. Besides, she highly doubted Vector would abandon his own team-mate.

She looked up at the chameleon as he adjusted his gloves, and something glinted as he tucked away one of his weapons. Part of her didn't really want him with them, but Espio's ability to mask his presence might actually come in handy while detaining Infinite.

Then there was Rough. She glanced over at the skunk and brought up her visor. As for him, well, he'd insisted on coming along. After she'd punched in the code for the jackal's microchip, she didn't even need him or his computer anymore.

The red dot blinked amid the red map overlay of Station Square, moving swiftly away from them back towards the thick of Central City.

"We're gonna have to give chase," she said.

"Aye," said Rough. "At the speed he's movin', I'd say he's got himself a car."

"Put that away." Tsunami placed a hand over his computer. "We don't need it."

"You're the one who wanted a tracker, love."

"And now I have one." She tapped her visor. "If all you do is trace an illegal tracking chip, you're not exactly what I wanted."

Crash laughed and struck his knee. "Whoa, burn!"

"Hey, I told you I can track better on the ground," Rough protested.

"Anyone can navigate a wreckage," said Tsunami. "Now we should get a move on before we lose him."

Espio placed a hand on her shoulder, halting her in her tracks.

"How are you at traversing rooftops?" he asked.

She turned fully towards him. "Fairly adept. Why?"

"I suggest we split up so we can cover ground faster," he said.

Tsunami cocked her laser. "Don't be ridiculous. It's safer in numbers."

"Hear me out," he said. "You and I are fast. We could get a run on Infinite and herd him back towards these two." He nodded towards Rough and Crash. "We tranquilize him and he'll be easy to detain with their combined strength."

Crash gave the skunk a wink and Rough flashed his sharp canines, looking between Crash and Espio.

"Why should you two get to team up?!" Rough barked at Espio.

"Like I said," Espio said calmly. "We're fast. You two are brawlers. You'd make a decent wall."

"Hey, I seen what that guy can do to a floor never mind a wall!" said Rough. "He'd tear through me'n'Spike here like paper."

Crash raised an eyebrow. "'Spike'?"

"If anythin', each of you should take one of us." Rough pointed between himself and Crash.

"All right," said Espio. "You want to come with me?"

Rough's jaw fell and he stared at Espio, aghast. As if the chameleon hadn't taken the hint at all.

"I'm fine taking Crash, if you think that's the best option." Tsunami gave Rough a pointed look. "This isn't a date, pirate. If you're going to jeopardize this mission, you can head straight back to my brig."

"All right, fine." Rough didn't take his eyes off Espio. "We'll go with Slimy's plan."

The chameleon pointed a kunai at Rough. "I am not slimy, fart-squirrel."

"Take that back!"

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Tsunami clenched her fists and seethed. "I knew I should have done this solo. Are you two going to co-operate, or do I have to stick both of you in my brig?!"

Espio sheathed his weapon. "I was co-operating just fine until he opened his big mouth."

Crash chuckled and looped an arm around Rough's shoulders. The skunk jumped slightly and growled at the mercenary, but Crash wasn't remotely phased.

"C'mon," said Crash. "Let's go be awesome somewhere."

He steered Rough away from Tsunami and Espio. The space pirate glanced back over his shoulder, snarling at Espio, before strutting off ahead of Crash.

Tsunami watched them go and let out a small sigh.

"Do you have tabs on them?" Espio asked.

"Crash, yes," she said. "But he won't let that pirate out of his sight."

"You remember I'm a pirate, too, right?"

"As if I could forget."

She made to holster her laser then decided against it. Her eye snapped back to the blinking dot, now in the middle of Central City. It had stopped.

"Come on," she said. "Let's try that rooftop plan."

The pair scurried along the edge of the station, sticking close to the shadows. On more than one occasion, Espio began to fade away then snapped himself back again. Tsunami began to wonder if it was a habit or instinct, and he knew full well she'd struggle to keep a track of him.

He stopped beneath an apartment block and nodded when she joined him.

"Can you scale buildings?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I'll sneak inside and take the elevator."

"No need," he said. "You can ride on my back."

"Are you kidding?" she scoffed. "You're not much taller than I am."

He glanced her up and down. "Well you don't look heavy."

Her cheeks flushed and she turned sharply from him towards the door. "I shall take the elevator. Meet me on the rooftop."

A quick hack into the control panel and the door slid open seamlessly. She sought out the elevator on her right, already waiting for a passenger. Fourteen stories, not including the roof. It rose up silently and she watched the numbers scroll, silently willing it to not stop for anyone. It didn't, but she heard the elevator beside her ping as she passed the twelfth floor.

When she reached the roof, Espio was already there, leaning back against the wall. He gave her a playful smile and kicked back from the wall to join her.

"Not bad," he said. "Did you break the door?"

"No," she said. "Unlike you, I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, I know what I'm doing," he said.

"Tell me that again when you don't break one."

She moved across the roof, keeping an eye on the blinking dot. It drifted back and forth as if it were lost, and every worst possible scenario crossed her mind. Was Infinite in trouble? Or worse… causing it? She frowned and looked out at the streets below. The hover-cars whizzing along them like colourful tiny beetles. After his threats she'd honestly expected a wreckage, but there'd been nothing.

In the distance, the long neck of an EggPatrol Strider Drone glided along above the lower rooftops, its head rotating left and right as it scanned the streets with its flood light. Calm. Just doing its duty. No alert light. No alarm siren blaring. No predatory chase. No helicopters homing in on the robot's target.

"I don't like how quiet it is," she said. "Something's not right."

"You think he's lurking somewhere, waiting to strike?" asked Espio.

She pushed back from the wall and checked the distance to the next rooftop. Four feet. She could jump that.

"I guess the only way to find out is to track him down." She looked back at the chameleon. "Try to keep up."

He zipped past her, almost gliding over to the next roof. Using her tail, she propelled herself after him, bounding from rooftop to rooftop along the busy main road of Central City.

...

T-Pup was zipping back and forth as it sniffed the sidewalk, desperate to go back the way they'd come. Sonic watched it, wishing Tails had programmed the robot with the ability to speak. But they'd already been back that way. Infinite's trail had ended randomly half way along Ninth Street. There'd been no sign of any wreckage. No sign of a break-in on any of the apartment blocks. No boarded up houses he could have escaped into. How had his trail just ended like that?

Sonic's brow furrowed as he pondered the jackal's potential ability to fly. Then his eye wandered to his companion's twin tails. Swaying as the fox mused over his computer. The microchip was locked in a little compartment as Tails took some readings from it.

"How are you getting on?" Sonic asked. "Any joy?"

"Oh, it's riddled with DNA," said Tails. "But I don't think I can trace him down on that alone. Not without constructing a homing device."

Sonic let out a defeated sigh. "So we should call it quits for tonight? Try again when we have a better means to find him?"

"It's either that or wait for him to destroy the city," said Tails. "And I'd rather avoid any needless casualties."

T-Pup stiffened and lifted its head. A low 'wuff' sound came from deep within it and its headlamp eyes trained on the distant shadows across the road. Light leaked into them, but not enough for Sonic or Tails to see into the alleyway.

"What is it?" Sonic asked. "Have you found something?"

The robot dog's ears swiveled back and forth and it tottered off towards the alley. Sonic took a step after it, but Tails placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The fox had put away his computer in favor of his rifle.

"You wait here," he said. "Contact me if Infinite shows up."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Urgh, why do I get the boring job?"

He watched Tails take off after T-Pup then leant back against a wall, tapping his foot. Something flashed across the rooftops opposite him and he abandoned the wall to grab his weapon. Two shapes landed on the roof of a low tower block and light glinted again off a small blade. It flew towards him and he leapt aside, narrowly dodging it as it embedded itself into the wall right where he'd been standing.

Feet clattered along the fire escape and Sonic aimed his rifle at the pangolin racing along it. Just one? He was sure there'd been two. He abandoned his gun and braced himself to leap towards her. One bound across the street and he'd have one of his assailants taken out already. Then he could worry about the other one. Cold metal brushed against his muzzle before his feet could even leave the floor, and he found himself backed up against a wall, staring into the golden eyes of a reptilian space pirate.

...

Rough shoved a trash can aside, sending it to the floor with a clatter. Garbage spilled out, which he stepped over without giving it a second thought. Crash sighed at it and climbed over the mess with one long stride.

"Great. Make more noise," he said. "That'll help us find Infinite."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Merc," said Rough. "Besides, it were in my way."

"I think you're just throwing a little tantrum because you're stuck with the wrong twin."

"As much as I'd rather be stuck with Nami, I'm only helpin' so you lot can save my brother."

"Heh, she told me about that. You'd have more luck paying another pirate to do it. We don't get caught up in your affairs."

Rough leered back at him over his shoulder. "You sayin' she lied to me?"

"Did she outright say she'd help?"

A look of confusion crossed the skunk's face. Then he sighed and waved Crash off.

"Whatever," said Rough. "I'll talk to her about it later."

"I hope you mean 'talk'." Crash's voice was laced with ice, and it chilled Rough to the core. "Because if you so much as lay a finger on her…"

"I ain't in the business of hittin' girls," Rough spat. "What do you take me for?"

"A pirate."

Rough's muzzle creased and he turned his back on the alley mouth. "What's your beef with pirates? We're just guys tryin' to get by like the rest of ya."

"Well, Nami and I weren't always anti-pirate." Crash stepped past Rough to look out into the street. "We used to read stories about them when we were kids. Nami even had this embarrassing dream about being swept off her feet by a rogue of the skies."

"Really?" Rough chuckled and folded his arms. "I can work with that."

"Then she started reading about mercenaries instead and her dreams kind of changed." Crash flashed the disappointed skunk a boyish grin. "So don't get your hopes up."

Rough snorted and rolled his eyes.

"By the way," said Crash, "it looks like Infinite is on the other side of those buildings."

"So we need to take another alley?" Rough shrugged and pushed past him. "All these narrow places are givin' me anxiety."

Before he could step out onto the main road, Crash grabbed him by the scruff and dragged him back into the alleyway. The pangolin nodded towards a club, with a huge crowd milling around it. Their voices were faint in the night air, but the shrill laugh of a girl reached their ears.

Crash lowered his muzzle to Rough's ear. "Check your surroundings before you get us killed?"

"They're just drunk teenagers!" Rough hissed.

"Yes, and we're both wanted, you moron."

Crash threw Rough back into the alley and glanced up and down the street. Despite the crowd, it seemed relatively clear. If he ran - quietly - he shouldn't draw any curious eyes.

The streetlight glinted off metal as it whizzed down from the rooftops by the club. The crowd froze, staring at the shuriken embedded in the tarmac. A pair of excited boys ran to grab it, squabbling among themselves, while the rest of the crowd were too fixated on locating where it had come from.

"Thanks for the help, pirate," Crash muttered.

Rough tutted. "Show off."

Crash grabbed Rough by the wrist and dragged him after him towards the next alley. He tossed the skunk ahead of him and then glanced back to make sure none of the crowd had spotted them. Sure enough they were still fixated on the mysterious shuriken.

"Flippin' reptile." Rough grunted as he stomped down the alley. "Tryin' to act all cool with his ninja stars. I coulda done that. Just hand me a rock."

"He might be showy," said Crash, "but at least he's a team player."

"Hey." Rough turned so he was walking backwards. "I can be a team pl-"

His tail bumped a garbage can, causing its lid to clatter and slide from its top. Crash's lip curled in a grimace as he watched Rough twist on the spot to grab it, setting it back in place.

The pangolin tucked his arms behind his head and sighed. "Not very good at this whole 'stealth' thing, are you?"

He jerked his head up as light leaked into the alley ahead of them. The blinking dot drew closer towards them as the light began to intensify.

"Oh great, he's coming this way," said Crash as he slipped past the skunk. "I really hope this isn't because of your racket."

He lifted a hand to shield his eyes against the bright lights, but it didn't make much difference. Infinite was going all out to make it near impossible to stop him. A canine shadow appeared in the mouth of the alley. Ears trained on them. Two tails swaying behind him.

Two tails…

Crash squinted at the shadow as he began to block out most of the light. Drawing closer as a small dog barked behind him. The canine lifted a gun and Crash heard the audible click as the safety was knocked off. As the canine stepped further into the shadows, it revealed itself to be a fox with golden-orange fur and an expression in his eyes that said he couldn't care less.

"GUN," Crash growled.

So GUN were here. Did that mean they'd already apprehended Infinite? Or was it all some big trick?

Crash clenched his fists and lunged at the fox, knocking his gun aside. It fired into the wall and a metal dart pinged off the rocks.

"Try and get behind him!" Crash barked at Rough.

"How?! It's much too narrow!" said Rough.

"Find a way!"

Crash strained to hold the rifle at bay as he brought his other fist down towards the soldiers head. It barely skimmed the fox's ear as he ducked and spun his entire body around. Twin tails tangled around the pangolin's legs and he staggered back as they were pulled out from beneath him.

The robot dog rushed past him, cutting off Rough's path. The skunk shouted profanities as it snapped at his feet, trying to drive him back towards its handler.

No. It wasn't going to end like this.

Using his tail as a pivot, Crash pushed himself back up and swung his right leg around at the fox. The light from the robot dog glinted off his blue eyes. Emotionless and empty. Crash faltered for a moment, a fatal move that gave the soldier time to dodge his attack and ready his weapon.

It fired and Crash flinched as a dart struck him in his right shoulder.

"Nice try," said the fox. "But you're both coming with me."

"I don't think so, punk," growled Rough.

Metal clattered as the dog rolled past Crash's feet, blurring as the tranquilizer flooded into his system. His strength was already failing. He couldn't fight now. Well… not effectively. Rough threw himself between Crash and the soldier, panic in his crimson eyes. He'd reached the same conclusion. He urged the pangolin back out into the main street as the weapon fired again, skimming Rough's ear to bury itself in the soft part of Crash's upper left arm.

Crash staggered onto the main road as his eyes unfocused. Streetlights dazzled with streaming beams that danced across his vision, and he had to raise a weak arm to block them.

The crowd screamed, turning to run away from the GUN soldier. Dropping glasses and knocking over chairs and tables as they flowed away from the club like a startled herd of gazelle.

The mechanical dog had recovered, rushing out on three legs as it barked at its handlers side. It lunged for Crash's right boot with its jagged maw. With what was left of his failing strength, Crash kicked out, striking the robot in its torso. It yelped like a wounded pup, careening past the fox as he readied his gun once more.

The strength left Crash's legs and he stumbled backwards, sinking to the floor. Rough leapt past him, bringing his fist down towards the fox's head. The GUN soldier ducked and Rough landed on all fours behind him. Then he curled into a ball, whizzing around the fox's feet leaving a pungent stink trail. The fox spluttered with coughs and screwed his eyes shut, aiming his gun blindly into the street.

Rough stopped beside Crash, coughing and blinking tears from his eyes as he dragged the pangolin onto his shoulders.

"Whew, caught myself in that one." He took off down the street, away from the club. "C'mon, Spike, we gotta bail."

...

Espio frowned at the blue hedgehog. "I think it's safe to say this isn't Infinite."

"No." Tsunami tapped her fingers along her arm. "My tracker says he's back that way."

She nodded towards the alley where the robot dog had vanished to. The blue hedgehog didn't look scared, yet he was also not putting up a fight. Instead staring into Espio's eyes as though he'd been challenged to a staring contest and refused to lose.

"So you're also looking for Infinite?" the hedgehog said. "I take it you lost him then?"

"I wouldn't say 'lost'," said Tsunami.

The hedgehog glanced her way and cocked an eyebrow.

Tsunami sighed and rolled her eyes. "But yes. Lost."

"Have you any idea what you've unleashed?" the hedgehog spat. "He was locked up for a reason!"

He knocked Espio's blade aside and ducked, leaping away from them in a streak of blue. They lost sight of him for a moment, but he stood crouching in the middle of the road, one hand pressed to the tarmac while the other flicked blood from his chin. Espio glanced down at his kunai and flicked a few drops of blood from its tip.

"Well I have no qualms with a GUN soldier," said Tsunami. "Unless you plan to make this difficult?"

"I could get a lot of money turning you both in," said the hedgehog. "But… if we're gonna round up this alien we're gonna need all the help we can get."

Espio pointed his kunai at the hedgehog. "It's bound to get ugly sooner or later. Because we aren't turning him back over to GUN. Not after what we've recently learned."

"We know you're planning to turn him into a weapon," said Tsunami.

The hedgehog huffed and straightened. "Only to get rid of Eggman."

"No, I think there's more to it than that," said Espio.

'Nami! Nami, can you hear me?'

Tsunami's spine went stiff as Rough's voice screamed down her ear.

"Yes?" she replied, not taking her eyes off the GUN soldier. "What are you doing with Crash's head set?"

'He's been shot!' said Rough. 'By some GUN maniac. I stink-bombed him, grabbed Crash and ran!'

Tsunami's blood turned cold. "He's been shot?"

'Yea, with tranq darts. Guy's out cold but the maniac is still chasin' us. How do I get back to your ship?'

The hedgehog's expression softened. "If your friends are being hunted by Tails, they're dead."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes at the hedgehog and he met her glare. "Rough, listen to me. Drop Crash and kill the soldier."

The hedgehog's quills bristled and he balled his fists. That was exactly the reaction she'd wanted.

'What?! Kill him?!' Rough gasped. 'Nami, I'm no killer!'

"I have faith in you, now do it." She locked eyes with the hedgehog. "Call your little friend off, and I'll call off mine."

The hedgehog sighed and pushed a button on his visor. "Tails, stop the hunt. It's not worth it." Pause. "We're meant to be hunting Infinite, not criminals. Leave them to the GUN patrol."

'Nami, he's backin' off!'

"Good," said Tsunami. "I'll have Decode pick you up."

'Roger!' came Decode's voice.

The hedgehog nodded and took a step towards them. Espio cut in front of Tsunami and aimed his kunai, but the soldier raised his hands.

"Listen," he said. "We're not allies, but we have to co-operate with this. Infinite is dangerous and he needs getting off Mainframe's streets before he causes any trouble. Otherwise he could destroy the entire planet." He paused. "Did he threaten it when he was with you?"

"Yes," said Tsunami.

"Figures," said the hedgehog. "He's been threatening our world since he was first apprehended. That's what I hear, anyway."

"I know full well he's dangerous." Tsunami pushed Espio aside then drew her laser. "That's why we wanted him out of your hands. I don't usually fight against GUN, but I couldn't overlook your little scheme. And I refuse to work with you to hand him back to the nutcase who wants him."

"I can't say I disagree with you," said the soldier. "But I have to hand him back. I don't have much choice."

Espio made a thoughtful noise and lowered his weapon. "You're talking as if they've threatened you."

The hedgehog was silent, and behind him a fox rushed towards them, clutching something in his arms. Whatever it was, it was whimpering. Or was that the fox?

"The name's Sonic," said the hedgehog. "Are you with me in this, or not?"

"That depends," said Tsunami. "Are you going to let GUN go ahead with their plans, or not?"

"I told you," said Sonic. "I have to hand him back. I have no choice."

"Then it's a race." Tsunami twigged the ladder as it dropped down behind the building she'd climbed down. "We'll see who catches him first."

Sonic's hand twitched as he braced himself to spring.

Espio aimed his kunai at his face and nudged Tsunami. "Go."

The pangolin turned and rushed towards the alley beside the low office block, keeping her laser clasped at her side. It wasn't long before she heard Espio racing after her.

...

Tails fixed blank eyes on Sonic's. "Why did you let them go?"

"Because it's not them we're after."

"But they're responsible for all this."

"Yes, and they're trying to catch him," said Sonic. "Like I said to them, we need all the help we can get."

He turned to Tails and his eye went to the robot trembling in his arms. Whimpering like a wounded puppy.

"What happened to T-Pup?" Sonic asked.

"Nothing I can't fix."

"Oh, buddy…" Sonic placed a hand on the robot's head, bringing its whimpers to a halt. "You need to be more careful. You can't get wounded like this."

"Its just a robot, Sonic."

"It's not just a robot!" Sonic snapped.

T-Pup lifted its head to lick at Sonic's hand.

He took a breath and ran his fingers through his quills. "Sorry, Tails. Just… let's get back. I'm tired."

Tails shook his head. "I should never have put those files in this thing. You're too attached."

"They're not files."

Tails met Sonic's glare with a blank stare. "They're files."

Sonic sighed and ran a hand down his muzzle. "Whatever. I'm not arguing with you about this again. You get T-Pup repaired, and I'm going home. I need a rest."

Tails was silent for a moment and Sonic braced himself for a run back home. If he could even make it that far.

"Do you need a ride?" Tails offered.

"Actually, yes. Just… try not to wake up my family or I'll never get any sleep."

...

**A/N - Another song suggestion. Tails adopted his own theme song off my playlist. It's Bionic Within by Misanthropix. I think you can find it on Spotify. If not, it's on Misanthropix's SoundCloud.**

**Review Replies:**

**Esi Sandre - Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed Infinite's POV! =D I don't think Amy planned to spend her evening that way, either!**

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	8. PW Chapter 8

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Eight

Tsunami clambered back onto The Raptor, ignoring Espio's offered hand. Her mind was spinning between the strange conversation with the GUN soldier and Crash being taken out. She spotted Crash sprawled over Rough's shoulder. The skunk looked like he was about to crumple under her brother's weight, but a small smile appeared on his muzzle when he saw her.

Vector poked his head out of the bridge door. "What happened down there?!"

"I'll fill you in later," said Tsunami. "Or Espio can do it."

Her priority was to get her brother looked over. She brushed the crocodile off and scanned over the unconscious pangolin. A small red dart stuck out of his right shoulder.

"How is he?" She moved over to the skunk, not taking her eyes off her brother.

"Think he's fine," said Rough. "Although he did take two-"

"Whoa!" she wafted a hand before her face and took a step back. "You smell like a truck of rotting onions crashed into a chemical plant."

Rough's eyes narrowed and he tried to shrug. "I told ya. I had to stink bomb the guy just to get away!"

"What, did you bomb yourself, too?"

"A little…"

"Well, I advise you shower before you step foot on the bridge."

Rough rolled his eyes and adjusted Crash over his back. "Where do you want me to take him?"

"This way." She led the skunk into the corridor. "Omachao?!"

"Yessum?" Omachao's chrome head poked out of the kitchen door.

"Grab a first aid kit and join me in Crash's room," said Tsunami.

"Roger!"

Omachao zipped back into the kitchen then fluttered out clutching a green box. He moved on ahead of them, his metal wings creating an audible buzz.

"Why do you need a robot's help?" Rough asked.

"Because he knows first aid," she replied.

"I could help you there," said Espio.

Tsunami stopped and looked back at him. "I thought you were relaying our mission to your team?"

"It's just I'm familiar with tranquilizers. Having used them myself."

Rough bared his canines and a low growl came from his throat. Tsunami fired him a glare which he didn't appear to notice.

"It's fine." She turned back to Espio. "I think Omachao's First Aid Program should be sufficient."

"Very well." Espio vanished into the bridge.

Tsunami followed after the robot chao and Rough slumped after her.

"I have first aid, too, yanno," he scoffed.

"Stop trying to impress me," she said. "Because it isn't working."

"I weren't tryin' to impress ya. I'm tryin' to help!"

"You can help by not causing trouble amid your team."

She marched on ahead of him, and he let out a sigh before following after her. When she reached Crash's door it was already open. Omachao hovered patiently by the bed, still clutching the first aid box.

Rough brushed her aside and rolled the pangolin off his shoulders onto his bed. He then gave Tsunami a sad look as he turned to leave the room.

"Wait," she said, freezing him by the door.

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "What? You actually want my help?"

She clenched and unclenched her fists as she looked between the skunk and Crash. Omachao hovered above her brother silently, attaching a stethoscope to his 'ears'. Something wasn't settling right with her. The whole ordeal in Central City was just strange. Sonic not putting up a fight. The deadly hunter solider tailing her brother and Rough. The lack of destruction from Infinite. Hints of hidden threats inside GUN.

"What actually happened down there?" she asked Rough.

"I told ya," he said. "We ran into a GUN soldier and Crash got hit with tranq darts."

"You fought him?"

"Had no choice," said Rough. "Guy were like some freak android from some horror movie."

"Well that's reassuring," she said. "Crash can be a bit hot-headed. So long as he wasn't just being foolish."

'Reassuring' was a strange way of putting it. Something still seemed off about GUN, and the more she heard the more unsettling it became.

"And this soldier was only after Crash?" she asked. "He didn't try to shoot you?"

"Yeah, I think he did, but he missed me and hit Crash again." Rough paused and brushed back his mohawk. "I dunno if it matters, but one of the darts fell out when we were runnin'."

"Are you sure you didn't just use him as a meat shield? I mean, you didn't want to work with him in the first place."

"You accusin' me of this?" He waved a hand to Crash's unconscious body. "Of course I didn't! I tried to get us both outta that alley!"

"All right. In that case, did it never occur to you to just drop Crash and run? To save your own hide?"

"You kiddin' me?!" Rough's jaw went slack and his ears drooped. "He's your brother, Nami. Would you really want me to do that?"

She shrugged. "What does that mean to you? That soldier could have shot you both and neither of you would have made it back."

He narrowed his eyes, almost causing her to take a step back. "But we both did. You should be thankful. It ain't worth both our brothers gettin' caught by GUN."

Tsunami felt a jolt in her gut and she met the skunk's eyes. No longer warm or playful. She'd struck a nerve.

"Well at least I know who's side you're on," she said.

He gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

"He's okay!" Omachao removed his stethoscope and slammed the first aid box shut. "He's just sleeping. I recommend a meal high in energy once he wakes. I shall get cooking right away."

The robot chao zipped from the room, plunging it into silence. Rough backed out of it and turned his back on her. His tail was no longer up and alert, instead dragging behind him like a dead weight.

"I'm gonna go back to the brig," he said. "I ain't good to be around right now."

"No need," said Tsunami. "I can have Omachao set you up a room."

"Eh?" He looked back at her, brow furrowed.

"I don't lock good guys in my brig."

She followed him from the room, careful not to step on his tail.

He sighed again and waved back into the room as she locked the door behind her. "Then what were all that about?"

"I don't really know what your motives are," she explained. "And I wasn't there to witness that fight to see for myself."

"You knew my motives when you asked for my help," he said. "But I don't think you're gonna hold up your end of the bargain."

Bargain… she smoothed out her scarf, watching the creases vanish under her glove.

"I never agreed to any bargain," she said. "But… if the chance arises, I'm not exactly going to leave your brother in GUN's custody."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we're not going to just run in there and save him unless a door opens for us to do so."

"That hardly seems fair!" he snapped. "You lot didn't bat an eye 'bout runnin' in there to bust out that psychopath!"

"That was different! Leaving him in their hands was a risk that could have affected the whole of Mainframe!"

"And now he's out there, roamin' the city." Rough clapped his hands. "At least my brother ain't a walkin' time-bomb of disaster."

Tsunami sighed and pinched her muzzle. "Exactly. And I don't appreciate the sarcasm, pirate. I'm not willing to throw all of us to our deaths barging into that cell again, especially now we're all wanted criminals!"

"What, so we're gonna just wait for GUN to drop their guard?" He shook his head. "That ain't good enough. They coulda killed him by then!"

"Are you seriously willing to risk the lives of every single person on this ship?"

He fidgeted his feet and glanced up and down the corridor. Anywhere but at her.

"Look," she said. "The offer's there. Take it or leave it."

"I'll leave it," he said. "But I ain't gonna go back on my offer. I'll help you get that Infinite back and then I'm off. I'll rescue Tumble myself."

"So you don't want anything in return? That's very unlike a space pirate."

He lifted his hands in a shrug and walked backwards down the corridor. "Call me?"

Then he turned and made for the shower room.

...

Amy leant back in the lush grass of a green meadow. Small animals scurried about her, chattering to themselves, while flickies flew overhead. The tiny birds congregated in the branches of an apple tree to preen their feathers, their musical melody only adding to the serenity. A soft breeze blew through Amy's quills and she closed her eyes briefly. Only briefly, as a squirrel hopped up onto her lap.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, giving the small rodent a smile. "Do you want a snack?"

It said nothing, instead reaching out to swipe her nose. She recoiled slightly and the animal reached up to do it again.

The meadow vanished and Amy snorted, swatting at whatever was pestering her muzzle. Whatever it was insisted on poking at her nose. She snapped her emerald eyes open, meeting Infinite's mismatched gaze. He crouched on all-fours low to the ground so his face was almost level with hers. He retracted his claw from her face and smirked.

"What the…" She pushed herself upright, rubbing at her snout. "What are you playing at?"

Her voice was almost a mumble. She ran her bare fingers through her disheveled quills and slowly took in her craft room. She'd managed to nod off on a pile of fashion magazines she'd been browsing for inspiration.

"I'm not playing anything." Infinite sat back on his haunches and shrugged. "I got bored."

"I thought you were organising my storage closet," she scoffed.

"Oh, I finished that hours ago," he said. "So I watched you sleep for a while. You drool, by the way."

"What?" Her cheeks flushed and she absently wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "Do you know anything about boundaries?!"

"Yes," he said. "They're pointless."

"Really? And how would you feel if I watched you sleep?"

His nose twitched and he diverted his attention to one of her magazines, idly flicking. "I don't think I'd really care."

"Well, I have boundaries and I expect people to respect them."

When he didn't respond, she shook her head and gathered up the glove she'd been working on.

"Not that it matters," she went on. "You'll be out of my quills soon enough anyway."

That got his attention. He lowered the magazine and scanned his eyes over her body. It was enough to cause her needle to falter and she shifted beneath his gaze.

"I don't want to be in your quills," he said. "They don't look comfy. Much too prickly."

"Yes," she said slowly in a bid to mask her discomfort. "I'm a hedgehog."

A grin spread across his muzzle and he grew restless, nibbling on a claw as his eyes darted around the room. They landed on a tin of odd buttons and he tugged it open and poured them out onto the floor.

"You don't have very good social skills, do you?" Amy commented as she returned to hand-stitching his glove.

"I've not had much practice." He turned a brass button in his claws then set it aside next to one of similar size and colour. "Everyone I've spoken to in the past fifty or so years hasn't exactly been good company."

"Jail wardens?"

"You wish," he said.

She looked up from her work, waiting for him to elaborate. But his full attention was on the assorted buttons.

"You make it sound like they didn't look after you," she said.

"They were only interested in what they could get from me." He fixed a golden eye on hers, chilling her. "Hurry up with that. I've got work to do."

She recoiled from his gaze and he turned back to his button sorting. But her hands were shaking too much to continue stitching. She dropped the glove and pushed herself up, smoothing out her red dress. Then she excused herself and slipped out of the studio to her bathroom. She faltered in the doorway, eyes fixed on the shower. Each bottle of shampoo and soap had been arranged by size along the shelf. Even the plush pink shower mat had been folded neatly over the heated towel rail.

She shook her head, deciding maybe lurking in the bathroom to calm herself wasn't the best choice. So instead she opted for making a coffee. The hum from the coffee machine drowned out the clinking of buttons, allowing her once again to believe everything was just some paranoid delusion. But she found herself making two mugs anyway.

Infinite's eyes widened as she handed him a solid green coffee mug, with a biscotti perched on its saucer. He took it gingerly and raised an eyebrow at her.

"It would have been rude not to make you one," she said flatly, returning to her sewing station.

He grunted and abandoned the mug on the table behind him. She stared at him over her cup's yellow rim and shook her head.

"I've not poisoned it," she said.

"I never said you had," he replied. "But one can never be too careful."

"Okay. And what good would poisoning you get me?"

"One dead jackal." He flicked a button into the air and caught it in his right hand. "Although that would be something, given I apparently can't die."

"You said you don't age," she said. "So are you immortal or something?"

He shrugged and clambered into the seat beside his coffee. "I don't know. No one's ever tested poisons on me. I guess we'll see?"

He dunked his biscotti then took a bite from it. His tail swished with delight and he leant back into his seat.

"I kind of guessed you like peanuts."

Amy returned to her sewing, although her hands still shook slightly. It probably wasn't the best idea to make herself a coffee of all things.

"So… are you a science experiment?" she ventured.

He flashed a glare in her direction. "I don't like talking about it."

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'm just trying to pass the time. You just showed up and I don't know what to do."

"Make clothes," he said. "Like I told you to."

She took in a trembling breath and lowered her sewing. "Please, just talk to me. At least let me feel like you're not some kind of threat."

"Oh but I am a threat." He licked crumbs off his fingers. "And you're terrified of me."

He slipped from his seat and crouched before her, fixing his mismatched eyes on hers. No snarl. No smirk. Just a painful stare that had her transfixed with fear. As if he'd strike if she looked away.

"Please." Her voice wobbled. "Just stop."

He spat air then stood up, idly dusting the red jewel in his chest. "Everyone is terrified of me."

"Well have you tried not deliberately scaring people?" Her voice still wavered, but she turned her attention back to sewing.

"No point," he said. "Pretty soon this world will buckle beneath me, starting with Eggman. And that crazed scientist Gadget. And anyone else who gets in my way."

She jerked her head up towards him, her emerald eyes wide. "You want to destroy Mainframe?!"

"Sure." He shrugged and returned to his coffee. "Why not."

"Because… billions of people live on it?! Including you!"

He shrugged again and cradled the green cup in his hands. "They've not done anything for me."

"That's hardly a reason!" she scoffed. "And what about yourself? You'll just float immortal in an empty void?"

"There'd be rubble."

"You'd be alone."

A smirk tugged at his lips and he scratched the corner of his mouth. "I've had fifty years of experience in that area. What's another millenium?"

Amy stared down at her sewing, but she wasn't seeing it. Her mind swirled with what he'd just said. Blatantly admitting plans of mass genocide. Planetary destruction. Was that why he'd been locked up for so long? Did GUN know all this? Did Sonic?

Her fist fastened around the glove. "I can't let you do this."

He swallowed a mouth full of coffee and cocked an eyebrow at her. "And how exactly do you plan to stop me?"

"I don't know," she said. "Some way?"

"I think I made it pretty clear where you stand in the pecking order the second I disabled your toy hammer."

She flinched at those words and a burning anger welled up inside her. But she swallowed it down. It was no use. She knew she'd lose in a fight with this maniac. At least… in a fight of physical strength.

"Maybe I don't have to use violence," she said.

"So what? You're gonna use words?" His voice practically purred, sending a chill down her spine.

She forced herself to ignore it, returning to her task of finishing the glove. Just a few more stitches and it would be done. All that would be left was his crazy hair-do. Then she could find some way of stopping this maniac. Get a level head. Maybe track down Sonic and her other friends and work together to detain him.

They didn't need to kill him. He was still a life. He still had a chance at redemption, and being mentally unstable wasn't grounds for voiding him that chance.

She knotted off her thread and looked back up at him, meeting his eyes. He was still leering at her. A daft grin plastered on his face, mildly menacing with a playful look in his eye. Was he just toying with her? Did he have no desire to destroy Mainframe at all? She greatly hoped that's all it was.

He hadn't hurt her yet. Maybe he was all talk and used his powers simply to show off?

She turned the glove the right way out and set it beside her with its pair. The left one had a red belt fastened to its buckle, hammered firmly in place. The right belt was green. His choice. She didn't think they went together at all.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I think it's time to fix your mane."

The jackal brushed his fingers over his white mane as a thoughtful look crossed his features. Then he dropped down before Amy, turning his back to her as she indicated. A little too close. The pink hedgehog shifted uneasily as the warmth from his body spread to her left shin. She tucked her legs in and groped for the hair brush, nestled among the pile of tubes and belts she'd previously prepared. Each one had a clip to hold it in place. Hair styling wasn't exactly her forte, let alone Mainframe's nightclub culture, so she'd had to go with what she knew and hope it worked.

She bit her lip, bracing herself to drag the wire brush through his thick mane. It snagged slightly, but he didn't seem to mind. After a short while he visibly relaxed, ears drooping as if he was about to nod off. The brush practically glided through his fur and she found herself wondering how often he'd actually had the chance to groom it. It was unusually soft and she had to resist the urge to trail her fingers through it. Her heart knotted as she thought back at those club photos. It would actually be a shame to knot his entire mane into dreadlocks. Maybe she could fashion up something else? Braids, maybe? Or…

She looked over the curling pile of apparel once more and her eyes fell on a tin of ribbons. She grabbed it and yanked off the lid, then rifled through the various odds and ends. Nothing long enough to work with.

Infinite's right ear swiveled back towards her and he tensed slightly.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I have an idea." She discarded the tin and rose to her feet. "Give me a minute."

As she entered her storage room she did a small double-take. Neatly organized, each mound of fabric folded and arranged by colour. Style. Pattern. Size. Even the shelves had been straightened. Tins and boxes stacked upon them, no longer threatening to crash to the floor or cause her shelving units to crumble. Where did she even begin to look now?

Oh wait. Above the boxes were her ribbon wheels. Arranged by thickness and main colour. She opted for a red one, medium width, and carried it back out with her.

Infinite's gold eye fixed on her over his shoulder and his mouth turned down in a frown. But he said nothing as she sat cross-legged behind him. Not until she unwound the ribbon, anyway.

"You're not planning on giving me a cute little bow, are you?" he scoffed.

"No," she said. "I just want to try something. Your mane is too nice to tangle into dreadlocks."

He grabbed some in his fingers and twirled it, making a thoughtful noise. Then he fired her a playful grin.

"You just want to play with it, don't you?" he teased.

She did, but she wasn't going to admit it. At least not to someone who had just threatened to destroy her home.

She snipped off a generous length of ribbon and returned to his mane, dividing out a hefty clump. Then she wound the ribbon around it, crossing over in an 'X' pattern. It had ended up being a motif she'd adapted into the rest of his outfit, playing on the 'punk' element. It took a few attempts, but she managed to keep the ribbon in place by winding through the make-shift dread. Once the ribbon looked no longer set to fall free she smoothed it out, just to test it. It seemed fine, but it might take a bit of maintenance. But at the end of the day, he couldn't very well keep everything in all the time. How would he sleep? Or shower, for that matter?

She shrugged it off and set about doing the same to the rest of his mane. Once the ribbons had held each dread in place, she then began to attach the accessories. Organizing them tidily throughout his mane. Some extensions were longer than others, but she felt it echoed the overall look he was going for without being too dark. The black PVC pipes had been spruced up with some neon yellow plastic she'd found. It took the edge off the black and added some colour among the red ribbon and green belts.

She sat back and dusted down her hands. "Done! You can put on the rest of the outfit when you're ready."

A wide grin spread across Infinite's muzzle and he stood up, reaching for the gloves. White leather, to match his boots. The latter had a crimson 'X' on the outer side. The inside had a buckle used for attaching the belts from his gloves. Amy helped him with that, crossing them over his back. One red. One green. They'd likely trail a bit when his arms were relaxed, but they'd hardly provide a trip hazard. They'd be more hazardous if they were too restricting.

Then there was the mask. As she'd designed, it lacked a lower jaw. Hard plastic with a red lense over the left eye. The right was obscured behind a large black cross. Each ear had a black and white triangular pattern which was asymmetric, and they fastened over his ears snuggly. Something he'd requested to help hold it in place, but Amy couldn't help but feel it was a massive design flaw. Such restriction was surely a recipe for cramp? But she couldn't argue. Her last efforts to give his ears some release was to add a strap to the back, fastening the mask over his muzzle.

The jackal grinned down at his outfit, spinning left and right to take it all in. Then he twisted to eye himself in the mirror.

"Perfect," he crooned.

Amy let out a sigh of relief and smoothed out her dress. "Then I guess you're free to go?"

He turned back to her, that grin melting into a smirk. A thoughtful smirk that pushed her quills on end.

"I guess I am," he said.

She nodded, trying to avoid the one eye she could see. The white was completely red, and the golden yellow iris was tinted orange. It made him look completely psychotic, aided further by the fact he wouldn't take it off her. His expression was unreadable, like he was planning something. Like a predator stalking its prey.

"Then…" She paused to clear her throat. "I can show you the door? I mean, you did come in through the window, so…"

She trailed off as the jackal approached her, and took a hesitant step away from him. She could run. She always had the option to run. And she was quick. But could she outrun him? He was taller than her, with longer legs. She glanced down at them, bracing herself to leap between them and scramble for the door. But of course there were the belts.

She clenched a fist and glanced back up at him, trying her best to remain calm.

"You promised you'd leave if I helped you," she said.

"I did."

"Well I've held up my side of the bargain… so if you don't mind…"

The white fur on his body lit up with a red tint and her eyes widened as the cross on his mask turned from black to crimson. But it was only brief. A weight tugged at her hands and her eyes flew towards them. A long red chain spread between them, winding up to Infinite's right hand. Each link looked like an infinity symbol.

Her heart sank and she looked back up at him, prompting an explanation. The jackal flashed his canines in a sinister grin.

"I never said I was leaving alone," he said.

He jerked the chain, dragging the hedgehog after him as he left her studio.

"You're kidnapping me?!" she screamed.

"Think of it as insurance," he said.

"Insurance for what?"

"You know my face." He turned towards her and gestured to his body. "And you know my disguise. How do I know you won't set GUN after me?"

Her jaw went slack. "And this didn't occur to you before you demanded my help?"

"Eh." He lifted his hands in a shrug. "I needed a disguise, and robbing a shop would have been too risky. This route seems less risk and more fun."

"Fun?!" she squeaked.

"Yes, for me." He turned and opened the door. "You might want to scream less, or you'll draw attention."

"As if this chain won't do that for me?"

Right on cue, the chain vanished. But not from her hands. She could still feel the weight. She looked back up into Infinite's grinning face and he winked his visible eye.

"Already got that covered, Freak." He turned and dragged the thrashing hedgehog from the front door.

"Just let me go!" she squealed. "I won't tell anyone! I won't turn you into GUN! Just let me go!"

He rounded on her, glancing at the other closed doors dotting the hallway.

"I told you to stop screaming!" he hissed.

Amy clamped her mouth shut and tears filled her emerald eyes. "This has to be a bad dream…"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He dragged her out of the door, letting it lock on its latch. "You'd better think of somewhere for us to lay low, because GUN are gonna be hounding me like the dogs they are."

Amy gave a mournful glance back at her apartment, then reached into her dress pocket. She pulled out her mobile, now fully working. Several text alerts dotted the screen. Of course… she was meant to be going out that night. Her friends would obviously be wondering where she was. Maybe she should let them know?

She glanced up at the jackal who eyed her curiously. No. There'd be no way she could contact anyone with him watching her.

So she sighed and tucked it away, following reluctantly after the frightening jackal to an unknown fate.

...

**A/N - Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	9. PW Chapter 9

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D **

**Man I had so many typos in this chapter. I think I caught most of them... sorry if there are any glaringly obvious mistakes...**

Chapter Nine

Gadget browsed over his notes, barely taking them in. He'd read them twice already, and nothing had changed. Progress was slow. The big skunk pirate had been sedated and set aside as a test subject for the control harness. Apparently his physical strength was greater than Gadget had first predicted, and given Infinite hadn't yet been retrieved, they couldn't just put the entire project on hold. The harness needed testing, and once the jackal was back in their custody they could go ahead with Gadget's original plan.

His door creaked open, but the wolf didn't even look up from his computer.

"You're late," he said.

"I know." Sonic strolled in and flopped into the chair opposite Gadget. "I overslept."

"That's what alarm clocks are for."

Gadget finally looked up at the hedgehog, taking in the heavy rings beneath his green eyes. The disheveled quills and the huge yawn that was probably not just for show.

"The caffetiere should still be hot." Gadget returned to his task, leaning his head on his left hand. "Help yourself."

Sonic didn't need telling twice. He dragged himself up and poured out a large cup. Then a second for the wolf. Good, he'd taken the hint. Gadget accepted his coffee and watched Sonic flop back down into his seat.

"I'm going to guess you've not caught Infinite?" Gadget ventured.

"Oh, there'd be much more fanfare if I had." Sonic sipped his coffee and flinched as it burnt his mouth. "He's removed his tracking chip."

Gadget raised an eyebrow at that. He let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle. That jackal was going to be the death of him.

"So he could be anywhere," he said. "Fantastic. Where is this chip?"

"Tails has it," said Sonic. "T-Pup can use it to track his scent."

"Really? And you haven't found him yet because…"

"The trail ended." Sonic ventured his coffee again, not having learned from the first time. So he set it on Gadget's desk and tucked his arms behind his head. "Just like that. Gone."

"So he really could be anywhere." Gadget sighed and covered his face with his hands. "We're going to need many more soldiers on this task since I don't imagine you're 'up to speed'?"

"Don't count on it, I've barely slept in days." The hedgehog yawned again and brushed his quills back from his face. "But I can try. Circle the city a few times and see if I can spot anything."

"And Tails?"

"Like I said. He can track with T-Pup. Or use the Tornado. I imagine any wreckage will be visible from the sky."

But that was just the point. There hadn't been any wreckage. Just a few citizens commenting on a strange jackal vanishing and reappearing at odd intervals. Distorted squirrels and bears, and the alarming news tag-line that the famous and much-loved sweetheart Honey the Cat had hissed at a child. It all screamed 'Infinite'. It only went to show how little Gadget knew about the jackal's strange powers.

How much did Infinite even know about them? Maybe that's why there hadn't been any destruction since he'd escaped the prison. He didn't know what he was doing.

No, that couldn't be it. It was more likely he didn't want to leave a trail. First escape, rest up, then make a scene. But that didn't make sense either.

"Are you okay, doc? You look like you're getting a headache."

Sonic peered at him over his steaming mug of coffee.

"I'm just trying to make head or tail of this," Gadget explained. "It makes no sense why he'd just vanish and not at least try to destroy something first."

Sonic shrugged and slowly sipped his drink. "Maybe he doesn't want to destroy anything."

Gadget flashed him a glare. "And all those threats were because of what? Just for show? To make us fear him?"

"Probably. I mean, he was locked up for decades. Have you ever thought that maybe he just wants to be free?"

Gadget narrowed his eyes at the soldier and jabbed his finger repeatedly into his desk. "I don't want him to be free! I want him here, working for me!"

Sonic huffed and leant back in his seat. "'Working' is a funny way of wording it."

"Are you testing me, hog?"

Sonic's eyes widened and he lowered his coffee again. He hadn't intended Gadget to hear those words. The wolf sighed and shook his head, turning back to his computer.

"Just get out of here and find him," Gadget growled. "And don't mutter such things in my presence again."

Sonic slipped from his seat and left the room, pausing only to utter a polite 'goodbye'. Gadget waved him off and once the door had closed he groaned and scratched behind his ear. They really were going to need more soldiers on this mission. Maybe he should pick up a gun himself and give chase?

His eye wandered to the closet at the back of his office, and he abandoned his desk to open it. Weapons and various gadgets lined the shelves and hung from the inside of the door. Tazers, tranquilizer guns, various laser weapons from sniper rifles to close range pistols, anti-gravity emitters… A low chuckle left his throat as he removed the latter from its hook. A rounded device, larger at the firing end. A few tweaks and Infinite wouldn't stand a chance against it.

Blue lights flickered back and forth along its sides as he activated it, then he aimed it at his desk. He squeezed the trigger and his computer became engulfed in a translucent blue haze. The computer was lifted clean off his desk to hover above it, motionless. Gadget chuckled again and eyed the weapon, rotating it in his hands. Gravity might be a necessity to keep one grounded, but too much or too little and you could really mess something… or someone… up.

"Oh, gravity. How heartless can you truly be?"

...

Tsunami rubbed her eyes as she stepped foot onto her bridge. Sunlight leaked through the windscreen, dulled only by the anti-glare coating. The artificial click of a computer keyboard alerted her to Decode's presence and she glanced the bush baby working away at his holo-computer. How Decode could get up so early in the morning always baffled her. Although there was also the ever present possibility he just hadn't slept at all.

She muttered under her breath as she stepped over the sleeping crocodile sprawled across the floor then slumped into her captain's seat. Charmy was curled up in Crash's seat, but there was no sign of Espio anywhere.

"Good morning," said Decode, somewhat delayed.

The pangolin rubbed her hands over her muzzle, longing to still be tucked up under her sheets. But after the chaos of the previous night she'd tossed and turned, barely catching a wink.

"Have you checked on Crash?" Decode ventured.

"Not yet," she said. "Omachao told me he's fine, and I don't want to wake him."

"Understandable." Decode's large eyes scanned over the various photos loaded up on his holo-screen. "I wouldn't want to wake the beast, either."

Charmy squeaked as he rolled over and one of his eyes cracked open. He spotted Tsunami then sat up and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What time is it?" he mumbled.

"Six thirty in the morning." The words almost pained Tsunami.

Charmy's brows knit together and he gave her a bewildered look. "Six thirty? Are you insane?"

She gave a glance around her bridge at the two space pirates, then her eye wandered to the door. Four pirates on her ship. Breaking out a criminal, then losing him. Fighting against GUN.

"It's starting to look that way," she muttered.

Omachao fluttered onto the bridge, balancing a silver tray on one hand. He paused beside Tsunami to give her the lone mug of coffee it carried.

"Good morning, ma'am!" he chirruped. "I trust you slept well?"

"Think again," she said.

"Oh dear." Omachao managed to look aghast. "Well that's no good, is it? I suggest a massage. If you return to your quarters, I can be with you in-"

"Out."

The robot chao bowed then fluttered from the room.

Vector rubbed his head and looked between the retreating chao and Tsunami.

"The robot offers free massages now?" he asked. "How did you program that in?"

"They have an evolving personality," said Tsunami. "I did nothing. He's programmed to help."

"I may have discussed butlering with him at some point," said Decode.

"What butler offers massage?" Vector spat.

"A good one. I had back ache."

Tsunami sighed and pushed herself from her seat, cradling her coffee as she retreated from the bridge.

"Where are you off to?" Vector asked.

"To see if the kitchen is less noisy," she said.

The crocodile kept one eye on her but said nothing as he reached for his discarded headphones.

"I'm coming with you!" Charmy buzzed after her, causing her to bristle. "I need cereal bad."

The kitchen was not less noisy. Omachao busied back and forth by the stove, instructing Espio on the art of pancake tossing. The chameleon seemed much too focused on the task, almost as if failing would cost him a limb. Or his pride. Tsunami faltered by the door, torn between her desire for a quick breakfast and the urge to go back to her room for another hour.

Charmy landed at the table and reached for one of the several boxes of sugared cereal adorning it. He didn't even empty the contents into a bowl. He upturned the milk into the box then reached for a spoon.

Tsunami had seen enough. She left the kitchen and made her way back to her bedroom. But she almost walked right into Rough as he left the room next to hers. His red eyes widened and he lifted a hand to steady her. It didn't stop the coffee swishing over the edge of her cup and sloshing down the front of her dress. She grimaced, and not just from the heat biting through the cotton.

"Sorry 'bout that." Rough released her arm to close his door. "You all right, love?"

She mentally swatted away his 'pet name', not in the mood to argue with him. For some reason she was relieved to see his tail was once again curled over his back. And the lack of dark rings under his eyes suggested he'd slept much better than she had.

He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. What did he want? She matched his expression then realized she'd not yet answered him.

"Oh. I'm fine." She idly dabbed the damp spot on the geometric pattern across her stomach with her scarf. "It'll wash." She met his eyes briefly and carefully cradled her coffee. "It's nice to see you've washed the funk from your fur."

"Well it wasn't impressin' ya, was it?" He gave her a half-smile then made to step around her. "So I guess you're off to check on your brother, then?"

"No, I was actually…" She sighed and shook her head. "Oh, what's the point."

She turned to follow him to the bridge and he looked back at her over his shoulder.

"Somethin' wrong?" he asked.

"Mornings and space pirates," she spat.

"I'm afraid we can't all be sunshine and rainbows."

She matched his pace as they made their way through the corridor. "Oh they are less sunshine and more rainbow. Loud… obnoxious… neon rainbows."

Rough threw his head back and laughed. She leapt aside, almost spilling her coffee again. He wiped a tear from his right eye and tried to calm himself.

"That's the best description of a 'morning person' ever," he said. "I think that woke me up. So what's the deal on breakfast in this joint?"

"Whatever Omachao feels like cooking," she said. "I'll grab mine when the kitchen has calmed down."

The bridge felt a lot quieter without Charmy and Vector in it, so she retreated back there to leave Rough to forage a breakfast. A clatter emanated from the kitchen, followed by a surprised yell, signaling that someone, somehow, had thrown the pan in an attempt to flip a pancake.

She chose to ignore it.

Decode was still working hard at his computer, so she took the opportunity to peer over his shoulder. Photos of the city, but each one had something in common. A blurred or distorted person walking along it, appearing on edge or as if they were looking for something.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Sightings that might be Infinite," he explained. "But each one was recorded before last night."

"So it's safe to assume he's no longer in the city?" The voice was Espio's.

The chameleon joined Tsunami's side, rather too closely she felt. So she scooted to the other side of Decode's chair.

"What makes you think he isn't in the city?" she asked him. "He could just be hiding?"

"I'm with both of you on this one," said Decode. "There's no evidence to support either fact."

A loud yawn came from the doorway, and Crash lumbered onto the bridge. He stretched his arms behind his head and yawned again. Then leant on the back of Decode's chair as he rubbed his eyes.

"It's good to see you up," said Tsunami. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck," he said.

"That's understandable given the circumstances," said Espio. "You did get hit by two of those tranquilizer darts."

Crash blinked his blue eyes a few times and frowned. "I barely remember any of it. Just some… weird GUN soldier who acted like a robot." He paused and rubbed his nose. "He also had a robot. Some dog thing."

Espio tapped Crash's plated shoulder. "It'll come back to you eventually. I have too much experience with that stuff."

Crash gave him a sideways glance. "Got hit with it yourself, huh?"

"I don't like to talk about it," said Espio flatly.

A playful grin spread across the male pangolin's muzzle. "Hit yourself with it, then?"

"Again, I don't like to talk about it."

"That's a yes," said Decode.

Tsunami shook her head and sipped her coffee.

"So what are we doing?" Crash asked as he received his own coffee off Omachao.

"Looking for evidence Infinite might still be in Central City," Decode explained. "Or anywhere, for that matter. But I'm still scouring Central City News."

He scrolled through the images, giving a brief explanation for each one. But none of them were relevant now. Why would he use the same disguise again? Although some were so distorted it was almost as if they were hoax shots set up to spread fear.

"Wait." Espio leaned over Decode's chair. "Scroll back up."

Decode complied, his muzzle creasing with confusion.

"There." Espio tapped the screen, bringing up a separate news article.

'New Fashion Superstar, Rose Designs, Spotted With New Boyfriend?'

The three mercenaries looked at the space pirate with matching looks of surprise.

"Fan of Amy Rose then?" Crash asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," Espio spat. "Look! Who does that look like to you?"

Tsunami frowned at the photo of the pink hedgehog. She stood talking - or shouting - at a black and white canine, adorned from head to foot with an outfit that suggested he'd stepped right out of a night-club.

"Can you zoom in?" Espio asked Decode.

"I can try, but it's a news article," said Decode.

He tapped the same key repeatedly to make the picture bigger. But the bigger it got the more pixelated it became. Regardless, Espio leant further over his seat and tapped the holo-screen.

"Look," he said. "Right there."

The mercenaries followed his finger, frowning at the mass of pixels. But there it was. A hint of red amid his black and white fur. Right in the middle of his chest.

Tsunami's eyes widened and she pushed herself back from the navigation deck. So it was him? Just out in the open like that? With a civilian?

"I don't get it," said Crash. "Why would he go to all that effort to disguise himself and not mask that jewel thing in his chest?"

"It is odd," said Decode. "I'm more curious about why he's just strolling the streets with a celebrity. Like… he's not destroying anything at all."

"A waiting game?" Tsunami ventured.

"I don't know," said Espio. "But not covering up one of the biggest give-aways to his identity? To me that suggests he's either stupid, or so sure of his own strength it borders on arrogance."

Crash turned his head towards him. "So… the crazy outfit is because…?"

"To blend in?" Espio shrugged. "From behind, with all that stuff hanging off him, no one would think it was Infinite. Just some other jackal. But from the front, he'd see his opposition and wipe it out before they even had the chance to fight back."

"So it's hardly a disguise?" Tsunami tutted. "Well, at least we know he's still in Central City."

"Hanging out with Rose," said Espio. "Now what does he want with a fashion designer?"

"Think she made him that outfit?" Crash grinned.

"Actually, yes."

"Really?" Crash's eyes widened and he tucked his hands behind his head. "I was joking."

"I'm not."

"Then let's get a move on," said Tsunami. "Catch that jackal before he causes any more trouble."

"We need to find him first," said Decode. "This was taken before dawn."

Tsunami froze by her seat. Decode was right. He could be anywhere in that city. So she turned to enter the kitchen to quiz Rough on his tracking skills. Her stomach growled and she glanced down at her coffee-stained dress. Maybe she'd also finally get a bite to eat.

...

It felt like they'd been walking for hours, but it wasn't even eight in the morning. Amy groaned as she followed after the jackal. He'd not said much, even when she'd been scolding him for dragging her along. All he'd given her was a hissed warning laced with venom that if she drew unnecessary attention he'd be forced to silence her.

'Silence'.

She wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved he'd not outright used the word 'kill'. But there was always the chance he'd been sugar-coating it. They were in public, after all.

Whatever. She was too exhausted to kick up a fuss. She'd been up most of the night making his 'disguise', as had he. Yet he showed no signs of exhaustion. When he paused at yet another map stand she let out a flustered sigh, which quickly evolved into a yawn.

"What are you looking for?" she finally ventured.

"Somewhere to hide," he said flatly.

"What, like an abandoned warehouse?" She hugged herself as she tried to picture a deserted place filled with rats and spiders. "There are a ton of them on the outskirts."

"Nah," he said. "Too dusty." Then he added under his breath, "I learned that the hard way."

She scanned over the map herself, wondering if there was anything she could offer. Somewhere she could sleep, and get off the street. The wind was brisk and she hadn't had the chance to grab a jacket. She was fortunate enough she was even wearing shoes and her gloves, the latter of which had been stuffed into her dress pockets.

"Might I suggest a hotel?" she said.

Infinite's spine stiffened and he stared down at her with a mixture of surprise and humor. She felt herself shrink and hugged her arms about her even more.

"It's cold, and I'm tired," she explained. "I just want somewhere to sleep. I… can pay for your room as well?"

The jackal scoffed and turned back to the map. "You really think I'm letting you out of my sight?"

Well there went that fleeting escape plan. Along with the dream of a decent sleep if he was going to be sat watching her again…

Her eye wandered back to the map as she sought out somewhere that might offer a bit of privacy while also entertaining the mad man's desire to keep tabs on her. After a moment, the creeping realization he was watching her crawled across her skin and pushed her quills on end.

"You look like you're about to collapse," he said. "Fine. Find a hotel. I don't want to have to end up carrying your exhausted ass around the city."

Valiant.

Amy's muzzle creased and she shook her head before turning back to the map.

"Somewhere low-key," he added. "We end up somewhere classy it might stand out to the authorities."

"Really?" She cast him a glare over her shoulder. "What on earth makes you think that?"

He lifted his hands in a shrug and the chain tugged her wrists. "Someone's gonna notice sooner or after that you're not at home, right? So where will they try to track down a famous fashion designer? They clearly won't look in some dive of a hotel, will they? They'll check all them four and five star places that superstars hole themselves up in."

Really?! She screwed her eyes shut in a grimace. "Suddenly an abandoned warehouse seems much more appealing."

"At least a cheap hotel will have a bed. Rather than some damp cardboard box in a corner that some animal used as a toilet."

He shuddered beside her and curled his tail about his legs. But the way his head turned left and right made her wonder if it was his mental picture that had triggered it, or something else entirely.

"Hurry up," he hissed. "People are staring."

He fixed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him, and she had to stifle a squeal. The back of her head met that strange ruby in his chest. She followed his glance across the street where a ragtag group of teenagers on their way to class were stood watching, aiming their camera phones in their direction. A few of them shouted something, and for a brief moment she worried they were about to rush over to them.

Infinite let out a low growl and swished his tail, and the rabble soon returned to their commute, firing beaming and laughing faces at them over their shoulders.

His hands lingered on her shoulders, but he didn't take his eyes off the corner the students had vanished around.

"They're gone now." She tried to shrug him off. "You can release me."

He complied, but his fingers brushed her arms as he slowly let his hands relax at his sides.

"Maybe I should also have told you to make yourself a disguise?" He spoke oddly close to her ear, sending a chill down her spine.

She swallowed audibly, forcing herself to keep looking at the map. "I think me vanishing would draw more attention than people seeing me with a strange man in the street." She paused, venturing a small glance back at him over her shoulder. "Besides, people have seen me with you now. If I 'vanished', who do you think they'll track down first?"

He growled again and stepped back from her. "Very well."

Now with a little more space around her she felt a bit more at ease. She straightened out the hem of her dress as she checked over the Northern District. The only part of Central City's outskirts that were visible on the large map. The outskirts were a shady place. Full of street gangs and mercenaries. Not exactly somewhere to find a five-star hotel.

"There," she said. "I think I've found a place."

"Perfect," Infinite crooned, somewhat sarcastically she felt.

She led them from the map, trying to keep a mental picture of it in her head. The outskirts wasn't somewhere she frequented, and had very little knowledge about them. The sheer thought of stepping foot into the rougher areas of Central City without her mallet twisted her stomach.

They continued on in silence, save for the odd grating noise Infinite seemed to make whenever something caught his eye. Which was almost everything. The neon signs, animated billboards, hover cars. Even children zipping along on their hover-boards, which if anything caused Amy more of an inconvenience than a fascination.

"I get the feeling all of this is new to you," she said quietly.

He grunted a reply as he paused to glance over the menu in a bistro window.

"Is this your first time seeing the city?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter really, does it?" He turned from the bistro to march on ahead of her. "I won't be in it for long."

Was that another reference to his desire to wreck the place? She puffed out her cheeks as she glared at the back of his head. A tug at her wrist became a yank until she was forced to trot along after him.

"You don't even know where you're going!" she shouted.

"Yeah, and you're meant to be leading the way." He turned until he was walking backwards, leering at her. "It isn't my fault if we end up lost, Pink Freak."

'Freak'?!

Amy was about to berate him for that, but instead her emerald eyes widened as she spotted a car whiz past behind him. She leapt forward, grabbing the jackal by the wrist. He locked eyes with her briefly as a look of alarm crossed his face. But any retort died on his lips as she whisked him back from the curb. Just in time for a freight wagon to trundle past, dragging its segmented carts behind it loaded high with iron and cement as it made its way to a nearby building site.

"Watch out for the cars!" She rounded on Infinite, balling her hands into fists. "You're going to get yourself killed, you idiot! Do you have no street sense?!"

He looked between her and the passing wagon, then relaxed his arms at his sides.

"I told you." He inclined his head on one side as he stared down at her. "I can't die."

"That's no reason to wander out into moving traffic!" She tutted. "Are you forgetting you're tied to me? Unlike you, I can die."

Infinite clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "Oh yes. So you can."

On that chilling note, he turned from her to wait for the traffic to stop. Almost mockingly. The lights changed, followed by a shrill beeping siren.

"That means it's safe to cross," Amy chided.

He narrowed his eyes at her and bared a canine. "I'm not stupid."

"Says the guy who was about to walk out into moving traffic."

He paused to let her pass, but she could feel him watching her.

"You know, for a hostage you're very argumentative," he said. "Most people wouldn't have the gall to fight back. They'd be too busy quaking in fear."

Her foot faltered as her blood turned cold. Infinite moved in behind her and his breath tickled her ear.

"But a fiery hostage is much more entertaining."

Well that made every retort die on her tongue.

His grin melted away and he tucked his arms behind his head. "Are you taking us to this hotel or what?"

She nodded stiffly and turned on the spot. But then the ground vanished beneath her and she tumbled over the edge of the curb. A scream left her throat, drowned out by the frantic horns of traffic. Something tugged on her arm, sending her careening backwards into Infinite's warm body. He locked his arms around her stomach and chuckled in her ear.

"Watch out for the cars," he purred.

Amy could do nothing but stare out at the stream of colourful hover cars whizzing along the dual carriageway. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind played over the situation like a stuck record. Had he actually just rescued her? She wriggled from Infinite's grip and stood trembling before the traffic. She glanced up at the jackal, meeting his smirk with a bewildered expression. Words wouldn't form right, and what was meant to be a strained 'thank you' came out instead as;

"Why did you save me?"

He huffed, but that playful smirk didn't leave his face. "You're welcome."

"But I thought you were evil?"

"You're more use to me alive."

She tutted and pushed the button to cross the road. "'Evil' it is, then."

The siren encouraged them across and the pair walked in silence towards the Northern District. The difference between the outskirts and Central City began to show as they strolled past boarded-up shops and alleyways teaming with torn trash bags. Infinite began to tread carefully, eyeing the gutter with a grimace. Amy didn't have the heart to tell him this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Fortunately the hotel wasn't too deep into the hole that was the Northern District. Perched beside the sticky doorstep of a night club stood Strobe Street Inn. A fluorescent pink sign hung in the window, declaring it had vacancies. It tinted the white of Infinite's fur and he pawed at it in a bid to make it go away.

The door tinkled as Amy opened it, and she tugged at Infinite's cuff until he followed her.

"Flippin' pink everywhere," he muttered.

A greying beaver looked up from behind the reception. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the pair and she nudged her glasses back up her snout, rapidly shunting her magazine aside.

"Can I help you?" she ventured.

"Yes. We'd like a room?" said Amy.

The spectacles almost fell off the beaver's face. "Really? Well… what room would you like? Double?"

Double?! Not a chance.

Amy forced a smile regardless, fighting the urge to look up at her companion. "Do you have a family room?"

The beaver looked between them, then leant over the counter just in case there was a third, much smaller person, standing between them.

"She fidgets," Infinite deadpanned.

Amy glanced up at the jackal. That was a nice save.

The beaver nodded and reached for her clipboard. Such a primitive object that Amy hadn't seen much of even in offices.

"We have two available. One has a view of Central City," she said. "The other looks over the building site, but I hear they're making it into a nice set of houses."

Amy hugged her arms around herself as the reality of the situation began to dawn on her. "The city is fine."

"Names?"

Amy opened her mouth to answer, then faltered. If she gave her real name, that would make it easier to track her down.

"Put it under mine," said Infinite.

Amy's heart lurched. Surely GUN would find him if he did that?

She leapt in before he could give it. "Niffy."

The beaver's pen glided over her clipboard without her even questioning it. She didn't see the jackal's gob-smacked face as he stared down at the pink hedgehog. Speechless.

"Okay Mister Niffy." The beaver reached behind her for a key card. "It's the third floor, room twenty-one."

He took it and turned from the reception without so much as a 'thanks'. So Amy thanked the beaver instead and trotted after Infinite. He held the elevator door for her and gave her an unreadable expression as they closed behind her.

"'Niffy'?" he spat.

"I had to think fast!" she said. "You can't give your real name! What if GUN find you?"

"I have you know I had it all planned out," he said. "I wasn't going to give her my real name, and I certainly wasn't going to use 'Niffy'! Where did you even coin that name?"

"Shortly after you introduced yourself and I asked if I could shorten it."

He made a spitting noise and looked away from her. "Good grief. And you think I'm evil? Niffy…"

The elevator let out a loud ping and let them out on the third floor. Room twenty-one was only a short way down the corridor. Infinite flashed the card and pushed the door open, entering before Amy.

One bed filled up most of the room, and at the foot of it was the door to the en-suite and a low dressing table. A sofa bed sat against the far wall beneath the window, the arm hidden beneath a yellowed moth-eaten curtain. Thankfully the bed sheets didn't appear as moth-eaten. Or as yellowed.

Infinite leapt into the air and landed on his back on the bed. Amy rolled her eyes and resigned herself to the sofa bed. A blanket lay folded on it, and she spread it out over the cushions.

"I'm going to get some sleep now," she said. "I recommend you do the same."

"Don't need it." Regardless, he yawned.

Fantastic. The reality of sleep rapidly became a fleeting dream.

"Then what do you plan on doing?" She deeply hoped he didn't declare he'd watch her again.

"Oh, I dunno." He lifted his hand and a red haze spread out around it, tinting the white leather of his glove. "I might practice for a while. Can't destroy the world if I don't have a good handle on my powers now, can I?" He flashed her a toothy grin.

Amy sighed and slumped onto the sofa bed. She placed her hands either side of her, but didn't lean back.

"Why do you want to destroy this world?" she asked. "What's it done to you?"

"That's none of your business."

"So you're just doing it to be evil? Because you can?"

He fired her a sideways glance. "What makes you think I'm evil exactly?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe kidnapping me and declaring you're going to destroy the world I live in?"

"And that makes me 'evil' why?"

"Because people don't just go around destroying planets and taking lives! That's evil!"

He shrugged and turned back to his hand. A quick flick and several red cubes formed around it.

"Did you ever consider the world might be evil?" he asked. "Or the people in it?"

Amy's mouth flapped open and closed as she struggled to find a response. He noticed this and shook his head.

"Think about it," he said. "The high standards you set. The lies you live. People who take what isn't theirs. The scientists who want to use you! Tell me. Who is the evil one here? The world, or the one trying to stop it?"

"All right," she said. "Say you have a point. What about those who are innocent? Those who strive to help others? Sweet little children? The ones actually trying to make a difference?"

Infinite shrugged. "Sad casualties."

Well… at least he thought of them as 'sad'. It still didn't make it okay, however.

"Go on then," he said. "You had a list of those you think are innocent. Why not give me an example of someone who is 'evil' in your eyes and let's see if I really fit the bill?"

She stared at him, but he didn't look her way. Not that he could. His blacked-out eye was the one closest to her, and he was too focused on playing with those red cubes.

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "A mindless murderer?"

He visibly stiffened and narrowed his eyes at the red cubes hovering above him.

"I mean… that's kind of what you'll be if you commit mass-genocide to fulfill some warped ideal." She wound her fingers together. "I'd say that's pretty evil."

"'Mindless murderer'," he muttered. "Heh. I know a thing or two about that."

What was that supposed to mean? She frowned at him.

"So you've killed other people before?" she asked. "Back in your own world?"

"I had my reasons." His voice was barely a whisper.

She kicked her legs against the edge of the sofa, drawing his eye again. He narrowed them until she stopped, and she muttered an apology, only to then berate herself mentally for doing so. He didn't deserve one after everything she'd heard.

"What would you even do once you've destroyed this world anyway?" she asked. "Given there'd be nothing left but rubble? Build it anew with your own idea of perfection?"

"What? No!" He almost dropped the red cubes. "I'm not a god! What a ridiculous idea! No, I just want to wipe it out. Erase it from existence. I was meant to destroy my old world, but the evil followed me into this one."

Her eyebrows raised at that. "You mean Eggman?"

"Precisely."

"Then why not just wipe him out? Why include everyone else?"

"Because there's more evil in this world than just Eggman. You see, he was a catalyst. It spread. Made it all so much worse. It infiltrated your government and vomited itself all over your little disk of a world. Even those who hate him are evil, wanting to use others for their own sick gain. I see it all, Amy. All I have to do is touch someone and see how truly evil they really are."

"What do you mean by that?!"

He gave her a playful grin and span the cubes in the air. If that was a point she didn't get it, and he didn't appear to want to give her a straight answer.

She shuddered and hugged her arms around herself. "Then what about yourself? Surely even you can't breathe where there's no air."

"You're right there."

"So…?"

He ignored that question and returned to focusing on his hand. Did he know he'd actually die? Was he really willing to go that far just to get rid of Eggman? That eerie red glow intensified, and with a flick, he sent the red cubes flying away from him one by one. One into the other, shattering them.

Just like her home would be shattered…

No, she couldn't just let him destroy Mainframe. She had to try something, even if it meant risking her own life.

"Listen," she said. "I know you might kill me for even suggesting this, but… if I can prove to you there is something worth saving in this world, will you spare it?"

His head jerked slightly in her direction and his expression grew thoughtful. "You care about this world that much?"

"Of course I do. And I think you would too if you gave it a chance."

His visible eye closed and a smirk spread across his muzzle. Then he chuckled.

"All right." He flicked the final red cube, and it shattered against the one left standing. Taking it with it. "Humor me. I have some time before I'm ready to destroy this wretched place, anyway."

She let out a sigh and leant against her knees. Well, it was a start. Even if she wasn't sure if he was merely playing with her.

"Okay, I'll do my best," she said. "But… there is one question still bothering me," she said.

"Then make it your last one," he growled.

"Fine." She took a steadying breath. "If you want to destroy Mainframe, then why are you keeping me alive?"

"I told you, you're more use to me alive."

"How?"

"GUN won't hurt you."

"What makes you think that?" she asked. "I've practically aided your escape. Once they find that out, I'll be nothing but a criminal in their eyes."

He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Then we both die."

"Exactly," she said. "So I'm more of a burden on you than a use. People recognize me. Rather than keeping me alive, you could have got rid of me and not had to put up with dragging me around."

That red haze fizzled out and he turned his head to look at her. "You sound like you want me to kill you." He paused, trying to read her. "Is your life really that miserable?"

"Why would you care? You want to destroy the world anyway, and I guess that means me with it."

"I don't care." Another smirk spread across his muzzle. "But you've made this a bit more fun. I've agreed to your little game. If you can make me care for something - anything - in this world, then I'll spare it. Because I'll admit, Pink Freak, you're right. If it's possible to care for something that exists in this mire then it's actually worth saving."

"And if I fail…?" she asked.

"Do you really think you will?" His voice came out husky, but she saw a glimmer of amusement behind the red glass of his eye piece. "It would be a real pity, wouldn't it?" A grin.

Her quills bristled and she stared at him, slack-jawed. He threw his head back and laughed, beating the mattress with a hand. What was his problem? Was this all just some sick joke?

She clenched her jaw and turned away from him, fixing a longing look on the window. His laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started.

"Get some sleep," he said. "You can't watch the world burn while you're tired, sugar."

She dug her fingers into the sofa cushion as her heart practically galloped. How on earth could she sleep now?

...

**Review Replies:**

**XtraXP - Thanks so much for reading! That idea is kind of similar to an upcoming plot-line (although the characters involved are different.) I am definitely open to suggestions, though! I've got fragmented ideas brewing for upcoming stories, and any suggestions to jog inspiration are welcome!**

**Thanks everyone =D as always, please R&R!**


	10. PW Chapter 10

**A/N - Thanks for all reviews, faves, reads and follows! =D I am so grateful to be able to update today. I feel like God has been giving me little nudges this week to get this update out. I've had a family emergency, and was worried I wouldn't be up for proof-reading given I am struggling to so much as daydream, never mind write. But I'm feeling a lot better today than I have been recently, and by the grace of God I don't feel I need to put updates on hiatus.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter =D**

Chapter Ten

Gadget glanced at his desk clock. Almost five pm. That meant he'd spent practically all day working on his gravity weapon. But if it worked as he hoped it would, then it would have been worth it. He swiped a few stray pastry crumbs from his desk as he stared down at the chrome and white hand-gun. Small and compact, still sporting a bulky nozzle.

He scooped it up in one hand and switched it on, and immediately the blue LEDs flickered up and down either side of the body. A vast improvement to earlier, when his last attempt to test it fried its insides. That had been a costly job in both time and funds to repair.

Now to test it actually worked.

He glanced around his office, clicking his tongue as he sought out something he could sacrifice as a test subject. Well, he'd broken the chair the previous night. He dragged it away from his filing cabinet - no sense in getting that caught up in it all if things went awry. Then he stood back behind his desk and lifted the weapon.

He squeezed the trigger and a beam shot from the nozzle with a deep 'whum!' It enveloped the chair, sucking all the gravity out from around it. The chair drifted from the ground, higher as Gadget lifted the gun. Well, at least the anti-gravity setting was working.

He adjusted the dial on the back, controlled by a slider next to the trigger, making sure it was set to 'compress'. The green light turned yellow, then amber. The chair slowly began to creak as its secluded gravity field was amplified. The corner of Gadget's mouth turned up in a smirk. Perfect.

The light turned red and the chair collapsed in on itself, forming a ball of chrome and plastic. Gadget released the gravity field, and what was left of the chair struck the floor and bounced before rolling away from his desk.

The wolf let out a cheer and clasped the weapon in both hands, grinning down at it. It worked perfectly. Now to try it out on something else.

His eye fell on the cupboards beside his mini-fridge and he rifled through them. A few opened boxes of cereal and a tin of beans he'd long forgotten about. That would do. He could get creative with that.

He set the tin of beans where the chair had been sat and aimed his weapon again. This time set to 'warp'. The tin can was lifted to eye level in the anti-gravity beam, then Gadget reversed the gravity. Beans splurted from the tin can's sides as it twisted, tearing the paper label around it. The metal creaked as it continued to warp in the adjusted gravity.

Gadget laughed and let it drop back to the floor in a mass of crushed beans and metal.

"I've done it," he gasped out. "Infinite won't even know what's hit him!"

The wolf placed the weapon back on his desk and reached for his chair. Then muttered to himself when he spotted what was left of it mere inches from his feet. So he opted to perch on the edge of his desk instead and brushed back the fur between his ears.

Of course, he didn't want to kill the jackal. He needed him. No, the weapon was to just assure he'd actually listen. Or drag him back, if need be. The latter was actually very plausible. If Gadget had to hurt him a bit to make him remember who was boss, then so be it. At least he wouldn't be able to fight back if he had no gravity to aid him.

Gadget chuckled and placed his fingers over the handle of the gun. Now he just had to track him down. A few soldiers… Sonic could arrange that.

The wolf reached for his phone and dialed the soldier. This would be interesting. It had been a long time since Gadget had seen any real combat.

...

Amy scratched her cheek, desperate to remove whatever was tickling it. The itch spread to her hand which she idly scratched at, then vanished. She yawned and pushed herself up, discarding the light blanket she'd been huddled in. It took the musty smell with it and she grimaced. Oh yes, of course.

She finally opened her eyes, taking in the worn-out room. Then she spotted something brown scuttling away from the sofa bed to vanish beneath the dressing table. She screamed and tucked her feet back under the blanket.

"Yeah," said Infinite. "That fellow had been crawling on you for about an hour."

"What?!" Amy fixed livid eyes on the jackal. "You never thought to remove a cockroach from me?!"

He shrugged as he toyed with the end of one of his white, fluffy dreads. "It was more interesting watching you swat at it in your sleep."

She shuddered and covered her face with her hands. "Urgh, you haven't the faintest clue how to be a gentleman, have you?"

He huddled back against the pillow he was resting on and smirked at her. That was enough of an answer. She pushed herself from the sofa, whisking the blanket aside to check for any more cockroaches. She half-expected to find a family of them, but she let out a sigh of relief when she found the sofa bug-free.

Well… visible bugs, at least.

Another glance around the hotel room with its moth-eaten curtain and yellowed peeling wallpaper and her eyes filled with tears. It was all too much.

"Please," she choked, turning back to Infinite. "Just let me go."

"Go where?" He scratched beneath his mask, ruffling the thick white fur over his cheeks.

"Back to my apartment! Away from you and all this! I promise I won't say a single thing about you. To anyone!"

"And how can you promise me that?" he asked. "You said yourself people have seen me with you. GUN must know by now, especially if those kids' photos go viral. You really think you'll hold up under torture? A fragile little pink spiky freak like you?"

She blinked the tears back from her eyes. "Torture?!"

"Oh yes. GUN have no restraints when it comes to that. Believe me."

Her jaw hung open as she ran over that. She'd seen the scar over his eye. Was that GUN? She shook her head and balled her hands into fists.

"I won't say anything! I'll… I'll move out of Central City if I have to! Please, I just want to go back to my own life."

"What life?" he spat. "Holed up in some fancy apartment surrounded by clothes while you pine over some blue spiky freak?"

Her jaw hung open again. "What? Pining?!"

"Oh come on, his photo was everywhere!" He waved an exaggerated arm. "It doesn't take a genius to work that out. And you weren't in a single one, so I think it's easy to say it's fairly one-sided."

She screwed her eyes shut, squeezing out those restrained tears. The bed creaked as Infinite slipped from it, but she didn't move. She didn't want to. She just wanted to go home.

He brushed a claw under her chin and tipped her head back so she was looking up at him. A couple of tears trickled from her eyes to travel down her cheeks into her tie.

"Such a sad, pathetic, lonely life," he said. "I can offer you a life filled with excitement if you'll only let me."

She choked and swatted his hand away. "What? Until you destroy everything?"

He chuckled and let his arm hang at his side. "You're the one who thinks you can stop me by making me care for something. What happened to that? Do you have such little faith in yourself?"

She turned away from him and closed her eyes again. "Just leave me alone."

"Fine." The bed springs creaked wildly as he threw himself back onto it.

She gave him a glance then looked towards the bathroom. Maybe she could actually get a little peace if she went for a shower. Although the thought of showering in a hotel room with cockroaches running wild didn't settle well with her.

Neither did sitting in the same room as a maniac. She still didn't know what he wanted with her. Wouldn't it be easier to just kill her than drag her around?

Then there was that chain. It might have been invisible but it was as solid as any iron.

She hugged her arms about herself. "I want a shower. Could you drop the chain?"

"Why?" he scoffed.

"Because I need to close the door?" she scoffed back.

"Then close it," he said. "It won't stop you. Believe me, Pink Freak, I don't wanna see anything."

Her cheeks flushed and she rounded on him. "Where did this whole 'freak' thing come from?!"

"You're pink and you're spiky," he said. "Why wouldn't I call you a freak?"

She shook her head and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. True to his word, the chain didn't stop it. Instead it flowed through the woodwork as if it were made of nothing but air.

"Oi!" Came Infinite's voice.

"What?!" she barked.

"Leave that phone out here. I don't want you calling anybody."

She clenched her jaw and tugged the door back open, tossing her phone onto the dressing table. Then she slammed it again. Oh, he was impossible. She let out a sigh and leant back against the door. Then she took in the bathroom.

A shower stood at the left, well the head of one. Poking out of the wall with nothing to stand on. Just an iron grate in the floor that let the water drain away, and was clearly meant to be something impossible to slip on. A loose curtain hung beside the grate, dotted with black mildew. Mold spread up the corner of the wall to congregate on the ceiling, right beside a fan she guessed probably didn't work. The only other fixtures were a sink and toilet, and a heavily streaked mirror.

Those tears broke free with full force and she let her head roll back against the door. "Oh this is ridiculous!"

She tore off her dress and necktie and clambered onto the shower grate. As she whisked the curtain aside, a family of silverfish vanished into a crack in the floor. She let out a squeal and turned on the shower, wrenching it off its hook to aim the water spray at the retreating insects. A deep hum came from the ceiling and she set the shower head back in place.

Well, at least the fan worked…

And at least the hotel had thought to provide soap.

She didn't understand that jackal at all. Was everything he said just an act? And what was the deal with his powers? She got the impression he didn't really know how to use them. That fractured image he'd been projecting was enough to back that theory. Seconded by his request for her to make him a disguise. So either he was unskilled or they had severe limitations.

As for calling Eggman a catalyst for evil, what exactly did he mean by that? It was common knowledge both beings had shown up in Mainframe at the same time. Did they have some kind of history? Were they enemies? And if so, which one was the bad guy? Eggman had aided Mainframe in its technological advancements. But he'd also brought along some very strict laws. And the death penalty. Many people wanted him out of power, but everyone was too scared to do anything about it. And with good reason.

Once she was clean and blasted dry by the fur dryers, she dragged her dress back on and forced herself to leave the misty bathroom.

Infinite glanced up at her from the bed. He clutched her phone in one hand and what looked like a ginger biscuit in the other. She looked between the two then seethed when she realised what exactly he was doing. She leapt across the bed and snatched her phone from his hand. His lone eye widened and he dropped the biscuit onto the duvet.

"Do you have no sense of boundaries?!" she shrieked.

The jackal choked on his crumbs and dusted himself down.

She fell onto her knees beside him and growled. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I had to make sure you weren't ratting me out, didn't I?"

His expression turned dangerous and she became increasingly aware of how close she was to him. So she scooted backwards off the bed and tucked her phone back into her dress pocket.

"I told you I'm not going to rat you out!" she said.

"Well I don't trust you."

"Believe me, the feeling's mutual."

She turned to the dressing table and tugged open a drawer. They had also provided a brush. Plastic-wrapped, so she assumed it was clean and not left by some forgetful mercenary.

"Where did you get biscuits from anyway?" she asked.

"Room service."

"What, they have room service here?" She looked up at his reflection in the mirror. "In a two-star hotel?"

"They do if you threaten them a little."

Her face paled and she felt her quills stand on end. "Tell me you didn't!"

He grinned at her. "What do you think?"

She decided to shrug it off and tugged the brush free from its wrapping. She settled into the chair and began brushing out her quills, still slightly damp from the shower. Infinite's reflection stared back at her, watching. Chilling her. Then he slipped from the bed and moved over to her.

She faltered, staring back at his reflection. "What?"

He reached for the brush, prising it from her fingers. Then examined it, removing one of her shed quills. He tugged his left glove off using his teeth then reached for her.

Amy ducked from him, causing him to freeze. "What are you-"

But it didn't deter him. He brushed her quills with his fingers then let out a thoughtful noise as he let them flow over his hand.

"Not as spiky as I thought," he muttered.

He eyed the brush again then began to drag it through her quills.

She narrowed her eyes at his reflection. "I can do it myself you know."

"You brushed my mane," he said. "It's only fair."

She sighed and leant her head on one hand. What was the use in arguing? She watched as he used the brush to comb out her quills and his un-gloved hand to smooth them out. Or make a mess. He really didn't seem to have a method. His claws brushed the back of her ear and she twitched it until he withdrew them. A small smile appeared on his muzzle. Genuine. Not intimidating like one of his smirks. He nudged her ear again and she flicked it, narrowing her eyes at his reflection. He laughed and shook his head, then returned to brushing her quills.

"So who are Tangle and Whisper?" he asked.

Amy jolted slightly. Her words came out slowly, warily. "My friends."

The jackal nodded, keeping his attention on her quills.

"I was meant to be going out with them last night," she went on. "Before you showed up."

"Well, they might not be your friends for much longer," he said flatly.

"What?"

She jerked her head around to look at him, almost causing him to drop the brush. But he managed to regain his emotionless composure.

"What did you tell them?!" she snapped.

"Nothing." He turned her back to the mirror with all the air of a professional hair stylist. "They've seen the photos, that's all. They think you ditched them to be with your new boyfriend."

"But you're not my boyfriend!"

He huffed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I hope you're joking," she growled.

"I'm not. Check the messages yourself if you don't believe me."

She watched him as she removed the phone from her pocket. Sure enough, the messages were there. A joint conversation with her two friends. Turning from playful to bitter as the night drew on. She tucked her phone away again, wondering if there was any way she could rectify this situation before it dragged on for much longer.

"See? You should play along," said Infinite. "It sounds like a good disguise."

"Well I'm not doing."

"Would it really be such a bad idea?" A devious smirk spread across his muzzle and he fixed his lone eye on hers.

Amy felt her face flush. "I thought I was too pink!"

He shrugged again and fell silent, still wearing that chilling smirk. She desperately wanted to change the conversation. No… she desperately wanted to contact her friends. But there was no way she could do that with him breathing down her neck. She'd need to wait until she found a chance… surely they wouldn't tell GUN about her? Or would they? Whisper's parents worked for GUN, and Amy was practically a fugitive now. Maybe it wasn't the best idea after all, and given what Infinite had said about torture she really wasn't willing to put herself at risk.

Oh, what was she going to do?! She really needed to take her mind off all this.

Her eye wandered to the jewel in his chest and she found herself thinking over her shower thoughts again.

"Does everyone in your world have a power like yours?" she asked.

He glanced up at her reflection briefly. "No. Why do you ask?"

"Curiosity," she said. "I've not seen anything like it before." She paused as he returned to brushing her quills. "So where did you get it from?"

Silence. But his jaw tightened and she wondered if it was worth pressing the matter.

"Sorry," she said. "It's just… if you insist on keeping me around then we might as well get to know each other."

"Does a hostage normally get to know their captor?"

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't know. I guess not?"

A brief silence passed over them, broken only by the brush running over her quills and the bathroom fan still humming away.

"You asked if I was a science experiment," he said. "I am."

Her eyes widened and she looked back up at his reflection. He stood back from her, letting her quills go, and deposited the brush on the table. Neatly.

"Were you always one?" she asked. "You know… made, not born?"

"Of course I was born," he said. "I'm a Mobian like everyone else like me." He waved a hand at himself then at her. "I'd say like you, but your world has a different name, so…"

He drifted off, and his lone eye grew distant. He turned back to the bed, stopping at the foot of it, and Amy turned in her seat to watch him.

"Was it forced on you?" she asked.

"No, I asked for it." He hugged his arms around himself and his tail curled around his legs. "Look, I don't like talking about it. So drop it."

She nodded and turned back to the mirror. Then the window. Infinite moved over to it and tugged the curtain aside.

"When does it get dark here?" he growled.

"Are you wanting to go somewhere?" she asked.

"Somewhere big and quiet. I don't have enough space to practice in here." He released the curtain and looked down at her. "Any ideas?"

She shrugged and looked out of the window. "The park closes at around seven."

"The park?" He followed her gaze and and grunted. "That'll do. We'll go there."

He turned from the window and left the room, leaving Amy with no choice but to follow him. Well… her other choice was to be dragged along.

"We've got a couple of hours yet!" she said.

"Yeah? Then there's enough time to grab something to eat. I'm starved."

She hugged herself and joined him in the elevator. She had to admit she was pretty hungry herself.

"Anywhere good around here?" he asked.

She shrugged her shoulders and made a thoughtful noise. "There's a bistro just on the edge of the outskirts."

"Pasta, eh? All right. I'm game."

When they reached the reception, the beaver looked up from her desk and beamed as a pink flush peppered her cheeks.

"Such a sweet young man." She gave the pair a wave. "I've another pack of biscuits for you both when you get back?"

Amy looked up at Infinite with a start, receiving a grin in return. Once they'd left the hotel, she cleared her throat.

"I thought… I thought you said you threatened her…"

The jackal tucked his arms behind his head and strolled on ahead of her. "I can be charming when I want to be."

...

Sonic hunched over his coffee, head nodding as exhaustion tried to claim him. Something nudged his arm and he jerked awake, almost knocking his paper cup over Tails' newspaper. The blue hedgehog rubbed his eyes as he looked across at his friend. T-Pup sat beside him on one of the chairs, metal tongue lolling as it read the paper.

Sonic tried to read his friend's blank face. "What's the matter?"

Tails nodded to the newspaper and Sonic leant across the table for a better look. A small column stood beside a larger, somewhat sugar-coated article about a prison break. He didn't even need to read that to realise it was GUN's loose explanation to the increase in soldiers and GUN robots patrolling throughout Mainframe. He knew there'd be no mention of Infinite or his abilities. Just 'a dangerous criminal'. No physical description - given his ability to disguise his presence then what was the point? No mention of the red jewel in his chest. No mention of his species. No attempts to get Mainframe to turn him in or report him whatsoever. Mainframe had merely been asked to report 'strange occurrences' that might point to the criminal's location.

So that made the small column slapped beside it all the more ironic. A celebrity gossip leak. Photos taken by fans who had seen the semi-famous fashion designer walking the streets with 'their new boyfriend?' Sonic frowned at the photo, noting the jewel in the jackal's chest immediately. If the random outfit he'd adopted was meant to be a disguise, then it was completely pointless. Despite the black and white print, it was obvious to both Sonic and Tails who this 'new boyfriend' was. Sonic eyed the girl clutched in Infinite's arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Is that Amy?" he said.

Tails nodded and sipped his own coffee. "It looks like we've found a lead."

Sonic's eyes widened and he slumped back in his seat. Amy… he'd not spoken to her in years. Not since they'd left college. And now she was roaming the streets with the very criminal he was meant to be hunting down. Of course, the column was likely all gossip. But he couldn't be sure without any facts. What exactly was her relationship with Infinite? Was she in any danger, or was it all harmless?

One thing he knew for certain, however. Infinite was definitely not harmless. He needed to track them both down and deal with this. But if Amy was involved in any way in aiding the criminal's escape then her life would be at risk.

Sonic bit his lip as he absently nursed his coffee. It bothered him. Both himself and Tails had been good friends with Amy for many years throughout school and college. She was part of their group, along with other people he'd long lost touch with. He knew she wasn't a bad person. So what was she doing?

This complicated things. Badly.

"She lives just outside Station Square," said Tails.

Sonic snapped out of his reverie and sipped his coffee. "Where?"

"Ninth Street."

Hot coffee came out of Sonic's nose to splatter over the newspaper. Tails stared at him for a moment, then shook the paper onto the floor.

"What?" Sonic wiped his nose on his glove. "That's where the trail ended."

"Precisely."

Sonic tried to picture the street, but it had been devoid of any clues. Given how the trail had just ended, all he could guess was that Infinite had in some way flown into Amy's apartment. Any apartment, actually. Why hadn't he considered that a possibility that night?

"I say we go to her home and look for clues," said Tails. "We might find something."

"We might even find them," said Sonic.

"Unless she's staying somewhere else?" Tails spread the paper out again. "I mean, if there are photos circulating then it only makes sense, otherwise GUN could track him down easily."

"So you think all we'll find is an empty apartment?"

Tails shook his head. "I think we'll find an abandoned apartment."

Sonic jabbed a finger onto the photo. "So you don't think she's with him by choice?"

"There's only one way to find out. We see if we can find any sign of a struggle."

"Great." Sonic abandoned his coffee and pushed himself from the table. "Let's get a move on then. I don't want to drag this out any more than we need to."

"Roger that."

Tails and T-Pup joined his side and the group made their way towards Ninth Street. It was a short walk from 'Station Square's Coffee 'n' Cakes'. The hedgehog had been waiting around the train station before deciding to call it a day and hop on a train back to North Cipher. A train. He was too tired to run all the way back home. His plan had been to try and swing a sick day just to get some much needed rest. But now, things were starting to look up. If he could turn in Infinite, he could then get all the rest he needed.

One might hope.

His foot crunched over broken glass and he froze. Ninth Street. He hadn't even realised they'd made it. He looked up at his left at the huge apartment block, then back down at the street. Glass lay haphazard over one small section of the sidewalk.

"Sonic, look at this."

Tails stood on the other side of the road with T-Pup, and the pair of them peered up at the windows above. Sonic joined their side to follow their gaze and his eyes widened when they fell on a shattered window.

"That wasn't there yesterday," he said.

Tails shook his head. "It was not."

Sonic's mouth turned down in a frown and he tapped his foot rapidly. Something was definitely amiss.

"You know what I think, bud?" he said. "I think that sneaky jackal masked the window."

"It's a possibility," said Tails. "We know very little about his powers. All we know is they seem to create illusions."

"Oh this makes me so mad!" Sonic waved his hands at the apartment. "We were right here! We were here! And he was in there! We could have caught him!"

"If he masked the window, Sonic, then he clearly knew we were here."

T-Pup yipped in agreement.

Sonic sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know. It just… it vexes me. Now he's got Amy."

"We should get inside and have a look around," said Tails. "Before we leap to any conclusions."

Sonic nodded and turned back to the huge building. Its steep wall would have been nothing to him if he'd been at full strength. Now it was a monolith of an obstacle.

"Think you could give me a lift, bro?" he asked.

A deep thrumming filled the air as Tails spun his twin tails like a propeller. He linked his arms under Sonic's and hoisted him from the ground with little effort. T-Pup rose up beside him on its own little propeller, panting jovially. When they reached the window, the robot dog went on ahead. Tails swung Sonic forward and the hedgehog curled into a ball as he whizzed through the jagged opening. More glass crunched beneath his body as he rolled over it.

He stood and dusted himself down, and moved aside for Tails to land in the small bedroom.

Pink. It was very pink. He nudged the glass with a foot, clear evidence that, if it was Infinite, he'd forced an entrance. Then there was the hammer. A giant mallet lying beside the bed. He stooped to pick it up and his heart sank.

"She's never without this," he said.

"Like I said." Tails walked past him towards the open door. "Abandoned apartment."

Sonic set the hammer down on Amy's bed and followed after the fox. His eyes fell on several photos dotted about Amy's room and the small hallway outside it. Mostly of him, with the odd one of her family.

He grimaced and shook his head. "Oh, Amy…"

"Sonic?" Tails voice came from somewhere deep in the living room. "You might want to take a look at this."

Sonic zipped through the living room into a small room off the left of it. A studio, scattered with magazines and bits of fabric. It looked like it hadn't met a vacuum cleaner in weeks. Tails stood over a pile of scrap fabric and clippings, clutching a hand-drawn pattern. He offered it to Sonic. A mask. Just like the one Infinite had been wearing in that photo.

Sonic clenched his jaw and handed the pattern back to Tails. The scrap fabric spoke for itself. White leather, bits of red and green belt, black piping…

"She's aided him," he said flatly.

Tails looked up from the pattern and T-Pup let out a low whine.

"You really think she's helped him willingly?" Tails asked.

"Look at it!" Sonic waved a hand around the studio. "She's helped 'hide' him, hasn't she? This evidence won't slide, Tails. She'll be labeled a conspirator."

"Under threat?"

Sonic's face fell and he gave another glance around the room.

"She left her hammer," Tails went on. "I think you're letting your heart get ahead of your mind. He barged in, her hammer is discarded. There is evidence of a struggle."

He met the fox's emotionless eyes. "So you think she's helping him out of fear? Because she didn't look scared in that photo, Tails."

"Amy never scared easily. She'd always get angry first."

"Yeah, that's true."

"You need to think more rationally. Try to think like her. I say we find her and get to the bottom of this before turning over a potentially innocent girl to the authorities."

"Well they'll be looking for her as well, now," said Sonic. "I doubt she'll be seen as a victim, especially if that photo is anything to go by."

"Exactly. We know her, so we should be the ones to do this. There's no sense in an innocent life being lost."

Tails stooped to check over the fabric pile. No reaction to what he'd just said, yet Sonic's heart sank at those words and he balled his hand into a fist.

"And how do you plan to do this without Infinite seeing us?" he asked.

"Easy. T-Pup has espionage programming."

T-Pup barked and its slender tail thumped the floor with excitement.

"I'll send T-Pup to scout her out," Tails went on. "It can deliver a message to her for us, and hopefully we'll get one back."

...

**Review Replies:**

**XtraXP - Thanks for those suggestions! I have actually been building on the Chaos Network already in a future story installment ;) Project Wreckingball is completed, along with a prequel and one-shot, so I've been working on Book 2. I'll check out that band you mentioned sometime. I'm struggling to listen to music atm, but any suggestions are welcome!**

**Please R&R! =D**


	11. PW Chapter 11

**A/N - This is probably one of my favourite chapters so far! I hope you enjoy it =D Thanks again for all faves, follows, reads and reviews!**

Chapter Eleven

Red light flashed across the grass as Infinite unleashed his illusions over it, transforming his small area of the park into a concrete battlefield. Amy watched from the shelter of a hydrangea bush, sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest. Egg Pawns marched across the concrete only for each one to meet its end at the jackal's crimson spears of lightning. Each attack lit up his white fur with red highlights. Yet the more intense attacks made him look like a black shadow surrounded by a red haze. It made her wonder if the latter was an illusion merely for show.

Despite the fact it was all fake, it was still nightmarish. Each robot let out a mechanical screech as it sparked on the ground, right before erupting into a cloud of smoke. Infinite didn't so much as smile, too occupied with taking out his illusory opponents. Well, at least he wasn't practicing on flesh and blood creatures, illusion or otherwise.

The terrain warped again into the winding corridors of a pristine building that reminded Amy of a laboratory. She could even smell the ammonia disinfectant. Or it was all in her head? The corridor ended at her little hiding place, giving her the feeling of sitting in a doorway. She momentarily lost track of Infinite as he made his way around the corridors, the only sign he was still there being the odd flash of crimson light as it spread across the clean white tiles. Bits of robot crashed and bounced along the floor, and one of their spears embedded itself in the wall and quivered with a reverberating hum.

Wait… that wasn't the spear.

The hum grew louder, coming from her right. Her ear twitched and she glanced up out of the bush. A robot dog not much taller than a toy terrier hovered beside her, fixing glowing eyes into the hydrangea. When it spotted her, its metal tongue lolled out and it panted with excitement. It landed on all fours and retracted its propeller into a hatch in its back. A smile tugged at Amy's lips as the dog inclined its head on one side and gave an endearing yip.

"Well, where did you come from?" she whispered.

She gave a glance back to the illusory corridors. Infinite was still deep inside them, battling something she couldn't see. Something that could actually scream. Her spine tingled with dread and she forced the morbid image to the back of her mind and instead turned back to the dog.

"Are you lost?" she asked it.

The dog sat down and its eyes lit up brighter, creating a beam that struck the floor at her feet. She shuffled backwards from it perchance it might harm her. But instead a pair of holographic GUN soldiers stood in the beam, no taller than six inches high. Her eyes widened at the blue hedgehog and twin-tailed fox and she failed to stifle a gasp.

"Sonic?" she squeaked.

'Amy?' Sonic replied. Could he hear her? No… surely not. 'I have to be quick, so I'm sending you a message through T-Pup.'

'You don't need to introduce the dog,' said Tails.

Sonic frowned at his friend. 'I'm introducing the dog!' Then he turned back to Amy. Or… whatever was recording it. 'We believe you might be in danger. We've seen your photo in the paper and we're worried, Amy. The man you're with is wanted by GUN, and we don't believe you are with him by choice. I'm letting you know we're looking to rescue you before GUN gets their hands on you. You can send me a message back through T-Pup. It will record it and let us know where you are.'

Was it a trick? She looked up at the dog and it retracted the image as Sonic leant forward towards the camera. It yipped once, almost as if it was prompting her to say something. Her heart raced as she ran over the message in her head. Sonic was looking to rescue her? She'd not spoken to him in years.

"A…Are you really from Sonic?" she asked. "It's not a trick?"

The dog shook its head and panted again, striking the floor with its antenna of a tail. So all she had to do was say something and it could relay it back? Well, she'd need to do it quickly.

She licked her lips and leant towards the dog, and its mouth snapped shut. Tense. Everything had gone oddly quiet. No sounds of robots being decimated. No screams. No flashes of red light.

Heavy breathing flooded her ear and her quills bristled. Infinite leant over her shoulder leering at the robot dog. He grabbed Amy by the back of her dress and tugged her towards him. His other hand crackled with crimson electricity.

"No!" she squeaked. "Leave it! It's just someone's pet robot dog!"

"It might be from GUN," he said. "I'm not taking any chances."

"Does it look like a GUN robot to you?"

T-Pup looked between Amy and Infinite then stood up, tongue lolling out in a happy dog-smile. Infinite's electricity fizzled out and he lowered his hand with a sigh.

"Fine," he growled. "I'm not exactly going to kill someone's pet. It's a waste of energy."

T-Pup's mouth snapped shut and its propeller popped out of its back. It took to the air and zipped off away from the hydrangea towards the city, slowly fading away as its body became translucent.

Infinite grabbed Amy's arm and jerked her around to face him.

"I heard voices," he breathed.

"I was talking to the dog," she replied.

His lip curled up at one side in a sneer. "A man's voice. That robot didn't exactly talk."

Amy tensed and fought the urge to look after the retreating robot.

"I think someone's looking for you," said Infinite. "And they sent a little recording through that barking tin-can."

"Then why didn't you destroy it?"

"Waste of strength," he said. "People already know you're with me. Why waste my powers on one measly little dog-bot? It's not as if it were weaponized. But… I'm not about to hang around waiting for it to come back with its master."

He fastened his hand around her back and tugged her into him. A grin spread across his face as the red cross over his right eye lit up bright red.

"I guess we'd better find somewhere else to play?" he purred.

Before Amy could retaliate, a pink cloud surrounded them. She screwed her eyes shut and held her breath to avoid breathing any of it in. Her stomach shot into her throat as she was whisked away from the park. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on a street beside a very disgruntled jackal. He released her and she beat down the front of her dress.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"I was trying to get back to the hotel." He rounded on her and growled. "Where are we?"

She stood back from him and looked up and down the street. The large train station stood on her left, silent save for a few commuters who couldn't care less about those around them. The train shot along its hover track to rise into the air, following the plexi-glass tunnel towards the outermost cities.

"Station Square," she said.

Infinite grunted and flicked his tail. "Nowhere quiet around here, then?"

Amy pursed her lips, looking over to her right. Infinite followed her gaze and his jaw dropped slightly. He pointed a finger and tapped her shoulder with his other hand.

"What's that?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes at a fence in the distance. Beyond it stood the towering pinnacle of an enormous roller-coaster.

"Twinkle Park," she explained. "Central City's only theme park. But it'll be all closed down now…"

She trailed off as she realized what she'd just said. But it was too late to take anything back. The grin he gave her told her that much. He grabbed her by the wrist and sprinted off towards the theme park, dragging her behind him. She clasped her free hand over the hem of her skirt to stop it billowing up as she struggled to keep up with the excited jackal.

Once they reached the park, he vaulted over the fence, narrowly avoiding the sharp spikes meant to deter trespassers. He landed in a crouch in the shadows of the empty theme park. A chill washed over Amy as she glanced over the motionless rides.

Infinite turned back to her and gave her a nod. "You coming then?"

She glared at him through the fence then turned her glare on the spikes. "Are you kidding me? I'm not climbing that!"

Infinite growled and folded his arms. "Well I'm not wasting my strength creating a door for you. So you don't have much choice."

"Oh I do," she said. "I can just stand here. It's not like you can drag me through the bars."

He smirked at that and moved backwards, swinging his right arm behind him. Amy lurched forwards as the chain became visible for a fleeting second, its eerie red light reflecting off the green paint of Twinkle Park's fence. She lifted her hands to catch herself before she struck the barrier face first. Then she fixed livid eyes on Infinite's amused one.

"You were saying?" he said.

She sighed as he gave the chain enough slack to let her stand back from the fence. It towered over her. Her hands flailed inches from the top no matter how hard she leapt.

Infinite sighed and waved her back from the fence. A red haze surrounded his body and he rose into the air. His eye lit up with delight and he grinned down at her. Then in one swift movement she was in his arms and being carried into Twinkle Park. He landed them well beyond the fence, between a carousel and a candy-floss stand. The latter was surrounded by shutters, but the sweet and sickly smell was still present.

She glanced over at the carousel. Each horse standing stock-still, but she couldn't shake the feeling they might start moving on their own at any moment. She shook it off, forcing herself to focus on anything but the empty ghost-town of an amusement park.

"So you can fly?" she scoffed.

"Apparently." Infinite chuckled and wagged his tail slowly. "First time for everything, I guess?"

He moved past her, turning his head left and right as he took in the theme park.

"So what do you plan to do here?" She knew the answer, so it didn't surprise her when he gave it.

"More of what I was doing in the park."

She sighed as the theme park warped before her. A deep, pulsing hum tore the air as his chosen battlefield opened up before him. The laboratory, filled with robots and GUN soldiers. Once again he left her on the outside of his crazy illusion. A spectator to his massacre of blood and scrap metal.

Amy screwed her eyes shut and turned her back on it, clasping her hands over her ears. But it was impossible to tune out. The screams and mechanical screeches, weapons whizzing past her as they broke free of the illusion. She yelped as a spear landed just before her feet, and a robot arm tumbled past her to join it. With a scream of her own, she turned and fled to hide beside the candy-floss stall.

The entire floor of the illusory laboratory warped with red energy, creating spears that shot across it like the ocean's waves. Each one spearing a robot or GUN soldier as they flooded towards Infinite in a never-ending surge. An effortless massacre. Their own attacks fell short, or were deflected by a barrier of red energy. The jackal hovered above it all, basking in his newfound discovery of flight.

A flick of a scimitar-like blade flew from his tail, severing the head of an Egg Pawn. It bounced along the floor, coming to a rolling stop just before the carousel. Amy grimaced and screwed her eyes shut.

"Stop! Please just stop!"

Infinite froze and turned his head towards her, freezing his own attack.

"What's the problem?" he asked.

The illusory army, however, had other ideas. Bullets sprayed from a large robot's machine gun and he lifted an arm to create a barrier, sending them right back to the robot that had fired them. Along with the two soldiers stood on either side.

"I can't stand this!" Amy screeched. "Can't you just… do something else? Do you have to keep creating bloody battles?!"

"Yes." Infinite turned back to his battle, impaling two soldiers and finishing off the large robot. "If GUN are going to fight me, I'm going to fight back."

He sent out another flurry of attacks, each one varied. Flying crimson spears, rolling spikes, swirling blades. The soldiers and robots couldn't fight back against it. They were crushed, impaled, sliced to ribbons. Each soldier wore a terrified expression. Their pleading voices rose over the chaos as they begged for their lives, lifting their disarmed hands in a desperate bid to defend themselves.

It was all too real. Amy shot from her hiding place, screaming at the jackal to cut it out. But it fell on deaf ears. So she threw herself before the illusion of a panicked and cowering soldier and thrust her arms out at her sides.

"Stop!"

She hadn't seen the red spear coming. Not until it was flying right at her face. There was nothing she could do about it. Her feet had rooted themselves to the spot. So she screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the spear to strike.

Infinite let out a strangled noise and the sound of shattering glass snapped Amy's eyes back open. She was back in the dark theme park, still standing with her arms spread like a target. Infinite hovered a few feet away from her, and his expression changed from surprise to disgust to anger much too quickly for Amy to fully process.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he hissed.

"I couldn't watch it any more!" she snapped. "It was cruel!"

"They're fake!" he roared.

"I don't care! They were begging you to stop! If you made them, then why make them scream like that? Do you enjoy hearing it?"

He didn't answer, his expression turning unreadable.

Amy shook her head and let her arms fall to her sides. "What's wrong with you?"

He lowered himself to the floor and that red haze vanished. She took a step back as he approached her and lifted her hands to her chest. Her back met the cold pole of a street lamp and she flinched as he stopped close to her ear.

"When I was screaming for them to stop hurting me, begging for my own life, do you think they stopped?"

Her eyes widened and fixed on his. Somehow cold behind the red glass of his mask.

"No, they didn't." That strange grating sound left his throat as he took a breath. "They kept pushing it to see how far they could go before they almost killed me. Originally for information, then for the sake of science."

A chill washed over Amy and she glanced away, but he turned her face towards him again.

"Those illusions are fake," he said. "I, however, am not. Remember that the next time you decide to judge me."

He released her and marched past her, leaving her staring at the spot he'd been standing. He'd mentioned torture before. What exactly did GUN do? Were they the reason he was like this? She hadn't thought much about it before, but most of the soldiers looked alike. Something she could easily have dismissed as a limited imagination. Just creating faces in a crowd. Were they actually the faces of people who had hurt him?

The FBI weren't averse to torturing people for information. Usually those behind terrorist crimes. If the rumors were true, Infinite had fallen into GUN's hands shortly after he'd arrived in Mainframe. If that was what GUN did to someone alien to their world 'in the name of science', then was he right to assume her world was evil?

"You're right," she said.

He turned his head to see her over his shoulder. His mouth hung open, speechless.

"If that's what they've done to you," she went on, "then they are evil. I mean… you hadn't done anything to them, had you?"

"I woke up in one of their labs," he said. "Strapped down and surrounded by people holding blades and needles…"

"And you didn't try to use your power to escape?"

He shrugged weakly. "I didn't know how."

"Then they had no right," she said. "It's not like you were a threat."

He fixed his eye on her and bared his canines. "But I am a threat."

"But you don't have to be! They conditioned you to be a threat."

He let out a bitter laugh. "Oh you naive girl. I was a threat before I was even dragged here. I told you, I was created to destroy my own world! To exact revenge on the ones that ruined me! But I never got that chance! The wretched lab exploded before I was even finished, and I woke up in some alien world where the man who created me - his best experiment ever! One with phenomenal, alien power! - left me to die!"

Amy flinched as he kicked out at a soda can, sending it soaring past the carousel. Then he slumped into a shuttered prize stand and let his face fall into one hand. All she could do was watch as he rubbed his muzzle, standing with his tail wrapped around his ankles. From the angle he stood at she could barely see the red jewel in his chest. That fierce demeanor was also gone. He could have just been any other Mainframe jackal, and in that moment she wasn't afraid of him.

She joined his side and placed a hand on his arm. His entire body tensed and he glared down at her, fur bristling. But she didn't withdraw her hand. He looked between it and her face then visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But everyone who hurt you is either in that lab, or Eggman. They're a lot smaller than Mainframe, and you're free now."

"Yes, but they're looking for me."

"They'll give up eventually, especially if you show you're no danger to this world or anyone in it."

He laughed and shrugged her off. "Oh, they won't stop looking for me. They want me, and I know what they're planning." A grin spread across his face and Amy took a step back. "Destroying this world would be mercy compared to what GUN have planned."

Her spine stiffened and she felt her jaw go slack. Infinite merely laughed and moved backwards away from her, tucking his hands behind his back.

"You have no idea, Pink Freak," he said. "This world will be begging me to destroy it when GUN unleashes its mindless army."

"Then why not fight to stop them rather than destroying Mainframe?"

He grinned again, refusing to give her an answer.

Amy jolted and stared back at him, aghast. "You were only destroying GUN soldiers and robots…" She pushed back from the prize stand and clapped her hands together, beaming. "Does that mean you finally care about Mainframe? Have I won?"

"Hah!" He stood up straight and turned his back on her. "Don't bank on it, Pink Freak. You're reading into things."

She ran after him. "But you didn't hurt me! You canceled your attack when I got in the way!"

"I told you, you're more-"

"I'm more use to you alive, I know."

She stopped at his side and a glimmer of amusement crossed his lone eye.

"So are we heading back to the hotel?" she asked him. "Because I have to admit, empty amusement parks give me the creeps."

"Really?" Infinite chuckled as he looked over the empty park. "It looks like a lot of fun to me."

"Then we can come again when it's daylight." She turned back the way they'd come. "Let's get out of here. I could use some supper."

The jackal snapped his fingers and the carousel ahead of her lurched to life. She leapt backwards and yelped, landing against his body. He steadied her and let out a dry chuckle, and she clenched her teeth and growled. The jaunty music from the carousel sounded ominous and eerie in the dark of night, especially given no other ride was active.

"Yeah, that one's a bit tame, I think." He snapped his fingers again and the ride came to a halt, plunging the park into silence once more. "I think we'll find something a bit more… daring."

A chill ran down Amy's spine and she moved free of his hands.

"I thought your power created illusions," she said.

"And how exactly will illusions destroy the world?" he asked. "The Phantom Ruby overwrites reality."

He waved a hand towards the large roller coaster and the neon green lights flickered on along its tracks. Amy stared gobsmacked at the jackal's smirking face, and he leant towards her.

"Care to join me?" he purred. "It can get awfully dull when you're alone."

The shuttle rumbled along the roller coaster's tracks, devoid of any passengers. Seeing the empty amusement park spring to life was almost as if her nightmares were becoming a reality. Still, there was nothing she could do about it. If he wanted to play in the park then she had no choice, given she was chained to him.

So she let out a begrudging, "Fine!" and followed him towards the roller coaster's boarding docks.

The little shuttle was waiting for them, and Infinite wasted no time in clambering aboard. Amy settled down beside him and the safety harness snapped over her shoulders, fastening her in place. She swallowed audibly as the shuttle rumbled forwards towards its first incline. Her knuckles turned white as she clasped them around the safety rail. Infinite, however, leant back with his arms tucked behind his head, humming to himself.

Amy screwed her eyes shut as the roller coaster took its first plunge. She'd never been a fan of this particular ride. Much preferring the swans, or the little story-book fantasy. Even the log ride. As the shuttle shot along its tracks, rising and falling and loop-the-looping, she began to silently beg her stomach to keep hold of her dinner.

She opened her eyes again as they arrived back at the docks, taking a breath as she prepared to disembark. But the wretched thing didn't stop. She caught a feigned yawn off her companion and that red haze took over his body again.

"That was a little weak," he said. "How about we make the next lap more interesting?"

The shuttle began to speed up as it clambered up the slope to the first drop.

"You have to be kidding me?" Amy squealed. "This thing is fast enough!"

Then it plummeted, taking a drop right through a hole in the ground. Amy's eyes widened as they were plunged into darkness, and her stomach left her as the shuttle corkscrewed through the void. Then it emerged again and she let out a scream. A huge reptilian mouth greeted them, snapping over the shuttle as it fired along the tracks into the creature's throat. It was only brief, however, as they found themselves careening along the set of some monster B-movie. More oversized monstrous reptiles patrolled the ride, bringing their fists down towards them to shatter the tracks, giving the shuttle little time to reach safety.

Amy could no longer close her eyes to shut it out. She was much too terrified, clutching the rail for dear life. Infinite burst into hysterical, high-pitched laughter as his illusion powers took over the ride, making it longer, faster, and much more chaotic.

Fireworks went off around them, forming into the shapes of battle planes with the soul intention of taking out the monsters. But of course, the shuttle got in the way. Narrowly avoiding a peppering of bullets as the soldiers aimed for the behemoth behind them.

The shuttle rounded a sharp bend before shooting over the edge of the next slope. Amy's scream reached a crescendo as a monstrous worm leapt from the ground, cutting through the roller coaster's track, bending them backwards like a ski-slope.

"Smile for the camera!" said Infinite.

The shuttle left its tracks, soaring through the air, past a huge scaly creature and narrowly missing its snapping maw. The shuttle crashed back down onto its tracks and came to a screeching halt back in the docking bay.

Silence.

Everything had returned to normal. No more monsters. No more battle planes. The roller coaster was exactly how it had been before Infinite's illusion took over it.

Amy's fingers hurt from clutching the rail too tight. But she refused to release it. She sat trying to calm her frantic breathing. Infinite shifted beside her and she turned to look at him, to say something. To give him a jolly good scolding. But her eye went to her right hand clasped firmly over his wrist. It was little wonder he wasn't saying anything. No longer laughing. When had that happened? She snatched it back and yanked off the safety harness, deciding to leave the situation unvoiced in favor of climbing out onto solid, safe, forgiving ground.

He stepped out behind her and her voice suddenly came back with vigor.

"What on earth was that?!" she screeched.

He chuckled and nodded towards the holo-screens dotting the boarding bay. "Fun?"

Amy stared back at her panicked face, contrasting the wild laughter from the jackal as the jaws of some rabid reptile snapped at the shuttle.

Infinite gave her an unnerving smile. "Would you like a copy?"

Amy had no response to that other than 'urgh!' She turned sharply to move away from the monstrous roller coaster. But much to her surprise it had returned to its former self. Not a single hint of damage over its neon tracks.

"What shall we go on next?" Infinite asked as he caught up with her.

"Are you kidding me?" she squeaked.

No. He wasn't.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. Just choose something a little slower? And less deadly?"

He rolled his eye. "All right. What do you like?"

She wanted to suggest the swan boats for a much needed change of pace, but given his abilities he'd probably fill the entire lake with flesh-eating piranha.

As Amy looked around the silent theme park, the possibilities of what he could do to the place to 'make it more fun' were endless. She really couldn't win this. So she resigned herself to following him through it until he found his next target. Deeply hoping she wouldn't be frightened to near-death.

...

Tsunami nodded along to the deep bass flowing through her headphones, keeping her eyes closed as The Raptor soared along Mainframe's sky. Soothing and pleasant. The rude awakening came in the form of a firm hand shaking her out of her daydream. For that briefest of moments she'd almost forgotten she had a ship full of space pirates and a mission to apprehend a criminal she'd aided in busting out of his cell. She cracked an eye open to see Vector stood over her and she nudged her headphones back to free one ear.

"What?" she growled.

"I said we think we've found him!" replied Vector.

Charmy buzzed over his head, looking a little too triumphant.

Tsunami pushed herself from her seat and let her headphones fall around her neck. Everyone was gathered around Decode's seat, but it was Espio who had his computer out. He smiled at Tsunami as she joined them and offered her his computer.

"We believe he's at Twinkle Park," said the chameleon.

"What on earth would he be doing in an amusement park?" Tsunami realised how pointless that question was when she saw the photo.

The chaos of planes and flying roller coasters made it look like GUN had already found him. But the giant monsters made that seem like less of a reality.

"Pretty bad photo if you ask me," said Vector. "But the evidence is there."

Crash cocked an eyebrow at his sister. "Do you think he's got that Rose girl with him?"

"I hope not." Tsunami handed Espio his computer back. "I dread to think how she feels about all this. What is he thinking doing that in a theme park?"

"Testin' out his powers?" Rough offered.

"Well it seems a bit public," said Tsunami. "Surely he must be aware someone will see it? I mean, it's a theme park. And you can see that roller coaster from behind Station Square. It's huge!"

"Looks like he made it huger, n'all," said Rough.

"It might be bait," said Decode.

Espio nodded at the bush baby's suggestion. "I say we go in carefully."

"All right." Tsunami returned to her seat. "Set a course for Twinkle Park then. How long will it take us to get there?"

"I'd say ten minutes at a steady pace," said Decode.

"Can you make it five?" she asked Crash.

"In the atmosphere?" Crash chuckled. "Sure, but you might wanna hold onto something."

...

Sonic and Tails stood by the hydrangea bush as T-Pup sniffed around it. No sign of Infinite or Amy, but Sonic was convinced this was where T-Pup had found her. Once again, the jackal had vanished, and this time he'd taken Amy with him.

"I'm beginning to think Infinite can teleport," said Sonic.

"I think that's pretty obvious at this stage," said Tails. "The question is 'where to'?"

The twin-tailed fox had pulled out his computer and was scanning the recent news site. Sonic leant over his shoulder, but he didn't need to. Tails had already found something. He turned it so the hedgehog could see it, yet the fox's expression remained unreadable.

Sonic's eyebrow rose as he took in the blurry photograph. "Is that Twinkle Park?"

He took the computer from Tails, scanning over the photo that looked more akin to a still from an ancient B-movie. Huge monsters standing over a towering roller coaster, swatting at planes and what appeared to be a small shuttle with two passengers. However the picture was too blurry to make out the latter.

But his answer was clear. It was indeed Twinkle Park. He could make out the sky tracks in the distance marking out Station Square, complete with a train hurtling along them. The photo must have been taken through someone's window in a frantic bid to be the first to report the anomaly.

"Well." Sonic handed Tails his computer. "I think we've found where he escaped to."

Tails tucked his computer away and quickly checked over his tranquilizer gun. "I say we get there fast."

"Way ahead of you."

Before Tails could even reply, Sonic zipped out of the park and vaulted the fence. That solid evidence had given him his second wind. Hopefully it wouldn't wear out before he'd turned Infinite back over to Gadget.

...

Gadget pursed his lips as he stared at the odd photograph gracing his holo-screen. Was that really Twinkle Park? If so, then one thing stood to reason. That was Infinite's doing. He'd seen the jackal's powers at work on more than one occasion. He'd even found himself on the receiving end of it. But no one in GUN knew fully what Infinite was capable of. Given what Gadget knew, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume he could work to such a huge scale.

The wolf was tickled pink at the thought. Infinite's powers were shaping up to be more than he could have dreamed them to be. And now he knew exactly where to find him.

Gadget grabbed his gravity gun and his phone, quickly dialing for the lead soldier on duty. He'd be needing a small army for this.

...

**A/N - I hope you enjoyed this chapter! =D Please R&R!**


	12. PW Chapter 12

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D **

Chapter Twelve

Red eyes glared at Amy and Infinite as they shot through a pitch black tunnel. Water sprayed over the edge, soaking through fur and quills alike. Screams and hysterical laughter echoed off the illusory walls, and Amy ducked as bats flapped over her head, beating her with their frantic wings.

Then starlight met them as the log carriage shot back out into the open air, careening over the edge of a waterfall. Amy's screams reached a crescendo as the log plummeted towards jagged rocks below them. But before it could shatter onto them, a huge reptile leapt from the waterfall and knocked the log off course. It instead landed steadily on its tracks, sending water flowing over the sides and showering its passengers.

The little log reached its docking bay and came to a steady halt. Amy sat trembling from both fear and the wind chilling her waterlogged body. She found herself unceremoniously dragged from the log as Infinite clambered out, tugging on their invisible chain.

"What next?" he asked as he looked around at the various attractions.

"Home?" Amy suggested. "If you haven't noticed, I am both freezing and soaking wet!"

He tilted his head back to look at her and shrugged. "But I'm not done."

"Well I am!" Amy thrust both her arms down at her sides and bristled. "So unless you can suggest something that might actually get us both dry-"

"Run in circles then or something," he deadpanned, turning back to the attractions.

Her ears drooped as she sighed. "You have to be kidding…?"

"Oh! Oh!" He dragged her towards him and pulled her close, pointing excitedly. "How about that? I could do something awesome with that!"

Amy's heart sank as she realized what he was getting excited over. A carousel of round seats that, even ordinarily, would spin dramatically as they swerved up and down over the ride's uneven platform. Its name was The Helter Skelter, and had a space-travel theme.

"We could go in separate pods and have a space battle." He chuckled and squeezed her shoulder.

Amy's eye traveled to her hands. "All right. But they spin. Wouldn't we just get tangled in this chain?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," he purred too close to her ear. "I know what I'm doing. Besides… you won't be going anywhere."

Those words seemed to carry a sinister air that made her spine tingle and her blood turn to ice. Whether or not he meant it as such was irrelevant. She'd been on that ride. She knew how impossible it was to get off once it started spinning. Passengers found themselves pinned to the sides of the pod as each one jerked around in an unnecessarily dramatic fashion.

"Come on!" Infinite's voice dragged her out of her unsettling memory.

The jackal's face was lit up with amusement and delight, and he tugged her after him as he raced towards The Helter Skelter.

...

Twinkle Park spread out beneath Team Datastream as The Raptor glided smoothly over it. Tsunami stood in the hatch, clutching one of the ladder's light beams. Everything seemed to look normal. The roller coaster that had taken over conspiracy sites and the front page of Central City News was no longer a towering monolith surrounded by monsters and battle planes. There appeared to be no sign of the deranged jackal whatsoever.

So what was going on?

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Espio beckoning her to join him. She followed the chameleon back onto the bridge and joined the rest of the Chaotix, Rough and Crash by the control deck.

Vector caught her eye and pointed a huge green finger. "There. See that?"

Tsunami had to squint to spot what everyone else was puzzling over. In the distance, on the other side of Twinkle Park, was what she could only describe as chaos. Fleeting images kept flickering over one of the rides. More battle planes and monsters? It was impossible to say.

"That's got to be Infinite," said Crash. "Right?"

"Either that or the strangest red herring in history," said Tsunami. "Do you think you can get us closer? And keep us cloaked until we're close enough? If it is him and he sees us coming, he might flee."

"If it is him," said Espio, "what on earth is he doing in an amusement park?"

"I've no idea," said Tsunami. "The roller coaster is undamaged, and there's no sign of a struggle or an assault at all."

"I reckon he's just practisin'," said Rough.

"Or he's merely enjoying his freedom," Decode chimed in.

The group turned from the window to the bush baby, but he didn't look up from the navigation deck.

"I mean, let's face it," he went on. "An amusement park must be like paradise after being cooped up in a padded cell for the past five decades."

"But he's drawing attention to himself," said Espio. "That hardly seems wise."

"Eh, he probably isn't all that bothered," said Decode.

"Well, we saw what he did to those GUN soldiers," said Tsunami. "So he clearly doesn't have much to fear."

Crash grunted as he steered the ship closer to the chaotic attraction. "Let's just hope he doesn't see us as enemies, then, eh?"

...

The colourful spinning pods soared through a horde of battle ships, and Infinite aimed his illusory weapon at them, taking two of them out before his pod span like a spinning top once more. The galaxy became a blur of stars and lasers as he cut through the horde, and ships fell around him like dead flies as his stray weapon fire hit home. Behind him he could hear Amy's screams and the pulsing of her own weapon as she fought to keep their enemies at bay.

Infinite only laughed and shook his head as much as he could from his pinned position against his seat. That was the problem with the weak. They feared for their own existence too much.

His pod began to slow again, coming to a halt. Stray battle ships hovered overhead, and with a flick of his hand they vanished. The Helter Skelter returned to its former self, and the jackal pushed the safety rail away. He staggered to his feet as the entire world continued to spin around him.

Amy climbed out of the yellow pod beside his blue one, her entire body trembling like a leaf. Before she could even attempt to make a break for it, he called that chain back. But she wasn't going anywhere. She slid from the ride and placed a hand against it, doubling over as she brought up the entire contents of her stomach.

"Oh lovely," said Infinite. "It wasn't that bad." His own stomach churned and he turned from the hedgehog. "Scratch that…"

He took a few deep breaths to steady his stomach. Then a strange rumbling reached his ears. His right ear attempted to flick towards the sky, but it was held fast behind his mask. So he turned his head fully to follow the ominous sound. Slowly peeling out from beyond the clouds was a familiar sight. A golden ship with a curved 'beak' and wide wings spread out at its side, reminiscent of a bird of prey gliding in for the hunt. His lips peeled back from his canines and his hackles bristled. He wasn't willing to be that prey.

Amy staggered to his side, wiping her mouth on her bare hand. "We need to run."

Infinite let out a low growl in response and surrounded his body with a red haze. The familiar hum of the Phantom Ruby reverberated in his ears as it pulsed through every nerve in his body. He wasn't going anywhere.

"Please," Amy begged. "I don't want to be arrested by GUN any more than you do!"

"It isn't GUN."

A green head poked out of the ship's hull and a neon pink ladder began to descend.

"Infinite!" the girl cried.

She landed on all-fours then straightened up, brushing off her scales. Then she lifted her hands to show she was unarmed.

Infinite sneered back at her, flexing his claws.

"GUN are looking for you," she said. "You'll be safer if you come with us."

"I don't need your help, pangolin," he growled.

Two more people dropped down beside her. The male pangolin and a blue skunk. Infinite stared at the latter for a moment then burst out laughing.

He waved his hands towards him but kept his eye on Tsunami. "I thought you wanted to arrest that guy!"

"He proved his worth," said Tsunami.

"Yeah, I proved my worth!" The skunk blinked then looked up at the pangolin. "Hey, what's that s'posed to mean?"

"Focus," she hissed at him.

Crash shook his head and turned back to Infinite. "Look, we don't wanna have to take you by force. But if GUN get their hands on you again it could spell the end to Mainframe."

"Oh, it will. But I won't let them take me." Infinite grinned and a deep pulsing hum cut through the air as the Phantom Ruby intensified. "Given you got me out of that cell, I don't want to destroy you. But if you keep pushing then I have no choice but to wipe each one of you out."

Amy trembled beside him, her voice barely a whisper. "Please don't. Please."

"Is that why you have a hostage?" Tsunami waved towards the hedgehog. "Because I can tell you now, GUN won't care about one girl over the rest of Mainframe. And that group we rescued you from most certainly won't care. So you might as well release her."

Infinite met Amy's eye and a fierce smirk spread across his muzzle. When he turned back to the mercenaries more had dropped down to join them. Those, however, were not unarmed. Moonlight reflected off a blade in the chameleon's hand, his amber eyes locked on Infinite.

"Let her go," the chameleon warned. "She's innocent."

Infinite chuckled and tightened Amy's chain. The hedgehog didn't even flinch. Infinite clenched his fist, calling up a small army of crimson cubes. The unarmed mercenaries reached for their belts to draw their weapons, but the reptile noticed something the rest of his allies hadn't. A blue streak, zipping towards them from the log flume. The chameleon sent a throwing star towards it, and it embedded in the ground. A blue hedgehog screeched to a halt, green eyes fixed on the quivering blade. A twin-tailed fox landed beside him along with a robot dog.

Infinite growled when he saw the robot and fired Amy a venomous look.

"Amy!" barked the blue hedgehog. "Move away from him!"

Amy whimpered as she clasped her hands together. "I can't! Sonic… help me!"

Infinite glared at the soldier. That blue hedgehog… he recognized him from the photos adorning Amy's apartment. So he was being noble? The jackal tensed as the hedgehog and his fox ally aimed their rifles.

Tsunami's squad did the same. Although most of their fire was aimed at the GUN soldier. The hedgehog scattered as he dodged a torrent of laser fire. The robot dog yapped, encouraging its allies. The fox, however, kept his gaze locked on Infinite.

Then he fired.

Infinite shot into the air, clutching Amy to his side. A dart bounced off one of the steel pods of The Helter Skelter, landing harmlessly on the floor.

"Put me down!" Amy squealed, flailing her legs as she kicked Infinite in the shins. "Sonic, please!"

"Cut it out!" Infinite roared. "Or do I have to bind your legs as well?!"

His red cube army flew out at either side, each one forming in the perfect image of Infinite clutching a struggling Amy. Each one mirrored the originals' movements. Then they span rapidly as Infinite led them in a spiral, losing himself amid his clones. Tsunami's squad and the gun soldiers twisted and turned with confusion, firing their weapons at the illusions as their voices rose into a panic.

Infinite laughed and threw his free arm in the air. The ground shook, splitting and caving, and scattering the army as they fled for their lives. Deep rivets shot across the tarmac, and the robot dog couldn't run fast enough. It was swallowed up in the void, clutching the rim for dear life while it whimpered and barked.

"T-Pup!" Sonic screeched to a halt and zipped back to the robot's aid.

The ground split, cutting him off from the robot, and Infinite raised his arm to ready an attack. A crimson spear. A grin split his face as he drew his arm back to launch it.

"No! Don't hurt him, please!"

Amy dug her fingers into Infinite's shoulder, her sharp claws cutting through her gloves. Her voice echoed in his mind, distorting to a panicked, shrill voice. Begging, screaming… He hesitated, his breath catching in his throat. His mind snapped back to reality, stunned as his lone eye glanced between the pink hedgehog and the soldier. Sonic vaulted the deadly gap to land nimbly beside T-Pup, and he stooped to pull the robot free. Oblivious of the threat aiming right at him.

Infinite gave himself a mental shake to dispel the memory and readied his attack again, but it fizzled out along with each and every one of his clones as a roar akin to thunder split the air. A dreadful noise that grew with intensity, causing all on the ground to cover their ears. Amy flattened her ears to her skull and buried her muzzle into Infinite's chest fur. The jackal flinched, zipping back towards The Helter Skelter to face whatever it was that was speeding towards them.

Five ships appeared in a flash, one after the other. Then the noise cut out, plunging Twinkle Park into silence. Black ships each with four jagged wings, sporting GUN's symbol on the nose and flanks. The lead one opened, and a soldier dropped to the ground. Followed by a red wolf in a lab coat.

Infinite bristled from ear to tail and Amy began to squirm in his grip. He realized he was clutching her too tightly and loosened his grip enough for her to catch her breath. But he refused to take his eyes off the wolf.

Gadget locked eyes with him and smirked. Then he pointed to his growing army of soldiers and motioned for them to deal with the mercenaries. The ground below Infinite erupted into gunfire as the soldiers attempted to maneuver around the cracks and holes left over from his attack. Well, in that case he'd make it harder for them. He threw out his right hand, and more fissures followed suit. Quick ones that caught the soldiers off guard, swallowing them up below. Their screams filled the amusement park, and Amy squirmed and kicked at Infinite, screaming at him to stop. The jackal was deaf to her. He let out a hysterical laugh as he threw his hands into the air. Geysers of soil, rock and tarmac erupted from the ground, raining rubble down onto the small army. They scattered like frightened mice, desperate to avoid the crushing debris.

Bullets and darts sprayed out towards Infinite. He threw up a shield, blowing them back towards their targets. Then he peeled one of the bars off a nearby Runaway Train, sending it hurtling towards the nearest soldier. It pinned him into the floor, dragging a blood curdling scream from the flailing fashion designer.

The air around Infinite glitched and flickered, and he found himself rapidly growing weak. He lowered himself to stand on the roof of The Helter Skelter and called off his assault on Twinkle Park. Once the dust had settled, the ground before him was a mess of rubble and bodies.

"Sonic?!" Amy twisted in his grip and let out a sigh when she spotted the hedgehog dusting debris off his quills.

She struggled and kicked against the jackal and he growled by her ear, fastening his left arm tightly around her. He was beginning to question why he was even still holding her anymore. She was becoming nothing more than a nuisance.

Tsunami and her group stood beyond the rubble, desperate to fight off the soldiers brave enough not to run and flee. Those still stuck by Gadget trembled, their faces twisted with fear. But the wolf seemed almost unfazed. Foolishly so? Either way, it didn't settle well with Infinite at all.

Gadget tutted and stepped over one of the more narrow cracks to reach Infinite, tailed by what remained of his soldiers, including Sonic and Tails.

"Interesting," said Gadget. "You'd choose here of all places to 'hide'. You weren't doing a very good job, were you?"

Infinite panted as he tried to catch his breath. The crimson haze around his body was fading, along with the Phantom Ruby's familiar hum. He muttered to himself under his breath as he took in the chaos still unfolding. Soldiers trying to rescue their wounded allies. Whimpers rising from amid the wreckage. Tsunami's team were being beaten back, teetering on the edge of a canyon. Beyond that, a teacup ride lay at an odd angle, swallowed up by the weakened ground.

Infinite growled as he turned his sights back on Gadget. Not a scratch on him, just a little dust peppering his pristine lab coat. Infinite needed to get away somehow. Especially given his strength was failing. He sent a crimson lightning bolt towards the wolf. Gadget took a step back, letting it strike the floor. He cowered back from the heat with the rest of his soldiers, then straightened and dusted down his singed lab coat. His lips turned down in a frown.

"Well now, that was rude," he said. "I hope you realise that clutching a feeble little fashion designer isn't going to save you?"

He pulled out his own weapon. A strange, white, rounded gun. It unleashed a blue ball of energy, and Infinite leapt aside, tossing up another shield. The light was deflected, but it tugged at his fur and dragged his tail towards it. Anything it touched found itself floating in the middle of that strange light.

Anti gravity?

Infinite sneered and turned back to Gadget, tossing several crimson bolts towards him. He leapt back, but one of them struck him square in the chest. Then another one struck his hand, disarming him. He seethed and rounded on his soldiers.

"Fire! Unleash everything! Ignore the Rose girl. I don't care about her."

The soldiers readied their weapons again, and Infinite caught Sonic's eye. Hesitant. Then he screwed his eyes shut then pulled the trigger.

Drat. Why had he spared the wretched hedgehog earlier?!

Infinite twisted, throwing Amy between him and the weapon fire. The hedgehog flinched as one of the darts buried itself into her shoulder. It was enough time to summon up the strength to bail. Pink smoke engulfed the pair and the amusement park warped around them. When it faded, Infinite found himself up to his knees in water, surrounded by darkness. He blinked a few times until his eye adjusted, and he met the scowling face of a pirate with its gun pointed at his muzzle. He growled, staggering back and tapping into the Phantom Ruby. Its weak hum filled his ears, but it vanished just as quickly. Nothing but a wax model.

He turned to take in his surroundings as Amy squirmed in his arms. His breathing rasped in his throat as it came in heavy bursts. Still in Twinkle Park… deep in the belly of the storybook ride. He cursed under his breath and looked down at the hedgehog. That dart still stuck out of her arm. A GUN tranquilizer. He was highly familiar with them. He tugged the offensive thing out and tossed it aside, where it landed in the water with a soft plop.

"What… Where are…" Her voice slurred and she let out a weak whimper. "Sonic?" Then her eyes fluttered shut as her body went limp.

His eyes widened and he steadied her in one arm while reaching for her wrist with his free hand. When he found a pulse he released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. At least GUN hadn't decided to use poison in a bid to kill him. But now he had to deal with an unconscious hedgehog while finding his way out of Twinkle Park without alerting GUN to his location.

He let out a low growl and stamped his foot, splashing water up to his waist. What was he meant to do now?! It was too much of a risk to stay in Twinkle Park, yet his ability to warp was wildly unpredictable. He could end up anywhere, and he had no clue how to get back to the hotel. And with Amy out cold, he had no idea how long he'd be stuck in this ride.

He searched the surrounding nautical attractions. Pirates, ships, cannons, sea monsters… there. A pile of hollow barrels. It would have to do for the time being.

...

Yet another dart bounced off Tsunami's tail. She lowered it enough to fire her laser, striking the hand of a yellow porcupine. He dropped his weapon with a yelp, then ducked as she fired again. Another dart flew her way, skimming the scales on her back. She turned to fire at the soldier, hitting the nozzle of the tranquilizer gun. It flew clean from his hands to be swallowed in one of the many gorges.

"There's too many of them!" roared Vector.

The crocodile struggled to fire his own weapon while clutching Charmy under his other arm. The bee had been struck shortly after the weapons started firing, thankfully only with a tranq dart. The soldiers hadn't held back with their other weapons. Tsunami raised her tail as a barrage of bullets showered over her, clinking off her hard scales. She didn't see the squirrel rushing her, blade brandished as bullets flew off his GUN armor. He crumpled at her feet and Rough stood back from him, grimacing as he shook his right hand.

"That squirrel's got an iron jaw or somethin'," he muttered.

Tsunami quickly thanked the skunk then aimed over his head to take out a jerboa. Her eyes widened as something soared from his hands to land among the mercenaries and space pirates.

Crash yelled and kicked at the silver container, but it exploded the moment his foot struck it. Gas sprayed out, stinging Tsunami's eyes. She yelped and clasped her free hand over them, staggering back into Rough's fluffy tail.

Some of the soldiers had been caught in it, reducing their attacks to nothing more than yelps and whimpers.

"All right! Let's wrap this up."

Tsunami squinted through the tear gas, but everything was a blur. What she guessed was the red wolf patrolled before her, clutching his weapon tightly. She knew what it was. Some kind of anti-gravity weapon. He'd narrowly missed Infinite, so she didn't doubt she could dodge it if she needed to. But if any of them were caught in that, it was safe to say they'd be helpless.

"Infinite's fled," he said, turning to his soldiers. "He could be anywhere, and finding him is our priority. I need you to spread out and search the park. As for you. You lot are coming with me."

He turned back to Datastream and the Chaotix, and plucked Tsunami's laser from her hand. The soldiers did the same, snatching her allies' weapons from them at gun point.

Gadget's muzzle crinkled and he tilted his head back to the sky. "Oh, is that your ship?"

Tsunami grimaced. Her ship? She followed Gadget's gaze. The tear gas billowed up above them, spreading out beneath the invisible belly of her cloaked Raptor.

"Detain it!" he barked.

Two of the soldiers milled about beneath The Raptor, looking for a way in. Tsunami's heart clenched as she remembered Decode waiting for them. He would have seen everything unfold. Why hadn't he fled?

"I can bomb him," Rough muttered quiet enough for Gadget not to hear. "I'll catch you in it, but it'd give us a chance."

"What, and leave Decode?" she hissed.

The soldiers had managed to find a way to board her ship as the twin-tailed fox carried one of his allies into its hidden hatch, his tails whirling away behind him like a propeller.

"Rough has a point," said Espio. "It's one of us, or all of us get caught. We can always-"

"I'm not leaving him," she said flatly.

Espio sighed and pulled out one of his throwing stars. "Then I guess we'll be rescuing two of you. Rough?"

The skunk snorted and fired a glare over his shoulder at the space pirate. "I ain't leavin' Nami."

"Fine," said Espio. "We'll do this the hard way."

The shuriken flashed under the dim light and whizzed past Gadget's hand. He yelped, dropping the gravity weapon. It leapt back into the air as if it had bounced, but it hovered in the air and aimed itself at the scientist.

Espio slowly unveiled himself and an audible click came from the weapon as he dropped its safety. Gadget's expression warped into one of utter horror as he looked between the gun and the space pirate.

"I don't know what this thing does," Espio said slowly. "But I'm willing to bet it's nasty."

"Drop it."

The voice was unsettlingly calm. The twin-tailed fox stood beneath The Raptor, clutching Decode with one arm while a pistol was pressed against the bush baby's head. The robot dog whined at his side, shuffling its forepaws on the cracked ground.

Tsunami's heart shot into her stomach and she screwed her eyes shut. "Drop it, Espio."

The chameleon kept the gun level and adjusted his hands over the handle. But he was hesitant. He knew if he pulled that trigger, so would the fox. To make that point known, the soldier knocked off his own safety. Tears shimmered in Decode's huge eyes and he screwed them shut.

Tsunami clenched her teeth together. "Drop it! They've won…"

"No they haven't," said Espio. "We can still get out of this."

The chameleon's spine went rigid and he turned his head to his shoulder. A lone dart stuck out of the back of it. His legs shook and he slumped to the ground. In a flash, Sonic was at his side, lowering the chameleon as he retrieved the gravity gun.

"Great timing." Gadget took the gun off Sonic and slapped it into his open hand. "Couldn't you have been a little faster?"

The hedgehog ignored him and aimed his rifle at Tsunami. "Just tranq them, Doc. There's no need to kill anyone."

"I wasn't going to do anything of the sort!" Gadget turned to the group, but his wounded expression was blatantly faked. "I was just hoping they'd co-operate a bit more."

"Co-operate my tail!" Rough barked. "What was all the weapon fire for then, eh?!"

Tsunami wasn't the least surprised to find he was the first to be struck by Sonic's tranquilizer darts.

...

**Review Replies:**

**Rowan Jacobs - Thanks so much for reading! =D I'm glad you're enjoying it. Gritty cyberpunk is one of my favourite genres to write atm! Sonic is married in this story, so that rules out any SonAmy stuff happening I'm afraid. I hope you continue to enjoy. I've got tons planned for this series. I've even surprised myself with some of the twists! XD**

**Thanks, everyone! Please R&R! =D**


	13. PW Chapter 13

**A/N - Sorry for the delay! I got distracted yesterday, and it wasn't until too late I realised I'd not updated! So here's Chapter Thirteen! I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thanks again for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! And I apologies for not responding to some via PM. I'm seriously behind on that.**

Chapter Thirteen

The porcupine soldier muttered under his voice as Gadget hung up on him, and not for the first time. Nothing ominous had turned up on The Raptor. The ship was clean. If it still held the information for Project Wreckingball then it was well and truly hidden. Maybe they had the wrong ship? The Chaotix had their own, yet they'd been traveling around with the mercenaries.

He returned to the bridge for another once-over. Maybe he'd overlooked it? Maybe it was tucked in the back of a drawer, or under one of the floor tiles? He tapped his foot over one of them. Then another. The same noise. Hollow, covering up the wires and heating pipes.

Hollow.

He stooped to grab the edge of one and give it a tug. Welded down. But maybe one of them would come up?

A hollow clang filled the air and he lurched forwards as pain exploded across the back of his head. Stars danced across his vision and he found himself sinking forwards as they spread out over a deep, black sky. The last things he remembered were falling, and the deep roar of an engine igniting its hyper-drive.

...

T-Pup's barking reached a crescendo as it leapt up and down, splashing water from the shallow pool. Sonic rushed to catch up with it, reaching the robot before Tails. It stood at the mouth of a ride called Pirate Cove, hovering on the edge so as not to submerge itself in the water.

"You think they're in there?" Sonic asked.

T-Pup looked up at him and gave an affirmative yip.

"It's as good a place as any to hide." Tails landed neatly beside him. "Out of sight. Water. They'd hear us coming."

"They'd hear me coming." Sonic shook water droplets off his red boot. "You don't have to wade through all this."

"My tails aren't exactly silent."

Sonic grimaced as he watched the fox wade into the water. "Can't we get a boat?"

"It would take too long, and we've been searching for over an hour already."

Sonic sighed and slowly stepped onto the tracks. Cold water sloshed over the top of his boots and he took in a sharp breath, his entire face creasing with disgust.

"Argh! Wet socks! Wet socks!"

Tails turned to look back at him. "You could have removed your boots."

"You're kidding right? Who know what's lying beneath all this."

He waded after Tails into the deeper water, flinching as it rose up over his hips. He'd never liked water. The whole endeavor was an unpleasant hearken back to his soldier training days, forced to trek along the mountain river. He half expected a fish to brush up past his ankle, causing him to squeal like a piglet and clamber for the shore.

The ride itself was pitch black save for the bouncing, blinding lights from T-Pups eyes. Sonic brought up his visor, and Tails' body became a haze of orange and yellow under its thermal scanner. That would make finding Infinite and Amy in all this a breeze. If they were even inside the ride.

T-Pup hovered ahead of them, its little propeller beating the air and its headlights bouncing left and right as it sniffed for Infinite's trail. The robot's confidence re-ignited Sonic's hope that they would actually find the jackal lurking somewhere deep inside the ride.

T-Pup veered off to their right and Tails took off after it. Sonic wasted no time in trudging through the water after his friend. Another thing he loathed about water. It slowed him down. He leapt from it, landing between a wax pirate and the grinning face of a leviathan.

T-Pup snuffled around the cannons and gunpowder, making a beeline for a stack of barrels. Then it stopped and barked into them, its headlights lighting up the painted wood.

Sonic and Tails stooped over the frantic robot then exchanged confused glances. Empty.

"He's not here, T-Pup," said Sonic.

The robot dog whined and paced back and forth, scanning the empty barrel with his huge eyes. Then it skipped around the stack, sniffing and searching, only to return to the one that had set off its sensors.

Tails made a thoughtful noise and ducked inside, scrambling deeper into the barrel.

"It's certainly big enough to hide in," he said. "I'm willing to guess they were here until very recently."

"Hence the scent." Sonic reached over to pat T-Pup's head.

The dog calmed and panted happily.

"No worries," said Sonic. "We'll keep searching. At least we know he was here."

"Given he can vanish into thin air," said Tails, "it will make tracking him all that more difficult."

"We've found him once already," said Sonic. "We'll find him again."

"He might be inclined to be more careful next time."

Sonic glanced back at the pile of barrels before wading into the water to join his friend.

"I guess so," he said. "But we now know Amy is with him."

Tails paused to look back at him, prompting him to elaborate.

"She must have a phone with her," Sonic went on. "What if we were to track that?"

"That's illegal."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at the fox. "She's in danger. He wasted no time in using her to defend himself. I think we can skirt around the legalities a little here."

Tails shifted his weight to one leg and inclined his head on one side, but his expression remained blank.

"It would take me a while to find the details," he said. "But I think it might be possible. Provided her phone is registered somewhere. And that's if I can even trace the thing. We're talking serious hacking skills here. That's not really my area."

"But you could give it a try?"

Tails shrugged then turned to wade back out of Pirate Cove. "There's a first time for everything."

...

Amy lifted a lead arm to rub her eyes as the haze of a dreamless sleep subsided. Everything felt sluggish. Moving. Breathing. What had happened? Twinkle Park… rubble raining down as people fled, screaming.

She took in a few sharp breaths as her eyes flew open, and she brought her heavy arm back down onto the mattress. The hotel room replaced that awful image. Its yellowed walls and tattered curtain. The mattress shifted beside her and Infinite grunted as he leant into her line of sight.

"Get away from me!" she shrieked.

She swatted at his muzzle, driving him back onto his haunches. His fur stuck out at odd angles around his neck as if he'd been caught in a strong wind after a shower and it had dried that way. Not to mention his dreads were in complete disarray. It brought it all back to her. The log ride, the roller coaster, the fight… He knelt beside her with his hands on his knees, looking her up and down with an expression she found impossible to read.

"What you did…" she said. "Turning Twinkle Park into your own playground… then to go and do that?!" She shook her head and dragged her fingers through her quills. "I was right! You are evil!"

He stared down at her silently. Her entire body began to tremble until the very bed shook.

"You killed people!" she snapped.

"I had to," he retorted. "Besides, they wouldn't have batted an eyelid at killing you. You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you for murder?" She seethed and shook her head again slowly. "You're a monster."

He narrowed his eye and straightened so he was leering down at her, like a cat watching its prey. "They are the monsters, Amy."

"You were laughing," she said. "You were enjoying it! What kind of sick freak enjoys slaughtering terrified people?!"

She met his leer, but once again his expression turned unreadable. It terrified her, but her heart was racing as anger fought to reign over her fear.

"Did it make you feel big?" she went on. "Throwing you power around like that? Watching people run screaming from you? Do you feel better about yourself?!"

He dug his fingers into his knees and the fur along his back bristled. His protruding canines became more obvious as he pulled his lips back, but Amy couldn't stop her onslaught from snowballing.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill me too!" she went on. "Let's face it, I'm clearly no use to you anymore. GUN made that very clear! I mean, you clearly had no problem with using me as a meat shield!"

"I had to!" he snapped. "I had to get us both out of there! If I didn't, you'd be dead and I'd be turned into a weapon!"

"But why? I'm no use to you now you can't use me as a hostage! So why bother saving me?!"

"I don't know, okay! I don't know!"

He hunched over panting, avoiding her gaze. So he'd saved her, but didn't know why… Had she actually got through to him?

She buried her face in her hands and took in a trembling breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry… you did save me. You even spared Sonic, too."

He shrugged and rolled his eye. "That one cost me."

Something twigged in her mind as his words dawned on her, and she licked her dry lips as she tried to absorb it.

"You said they'd turn you into a weapon…" She looked up at him again. "How do you know that? Did they tell you?"

"Not exactly."

She decided to brush over that. "What do they want to use you for?"

He shrugged again. "War."

"War…" She slipped from the bed and straightened out her dress.

"They called me Project Wreckingball."

She froze and turned back to him but he wouldn't look at her.

"Behind my back," he went on. "To my face, I was just a number."

"So there's more of you?"

He sneered and let out a snort. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"Like you?" She nodded to the ruby in his chest.

"No. Like you."

Her body began to tremble again and he met her eye.

"I told you they're evil, Amy," he said. "And the only way I can deal with each and every one is to bomb the earth like you'd bomb a house for fleas."

"But not everyone on this planet is evil. You'd be killing innocent people."

"It's either that, or I check each and every one of the billions living here for any hint of evil in their hearts."

If that was sarcasm it was in very bad taste. She closed her eyes as the image of Twinkle Park flashed through her mind once more.

That awful, hysterical laugh.

"But you enjoyed it," she said. "I can't get past that. You were laughing at them. They were helpless."

"They laughed when they were hurting me. Isn't that what you do?"

She stared back at him, slack-jawed. "They laugh when they're torturing people?"

"Well, not all of them did." He tensed and glared at the wardrobe. "It was mostly that Gadget. And the 'doctor' he replaced. Laughing at a helpless victim as he crushes their throat until they black out from lack of oxygen… only to wake up back in their cell while their body desperately tries to regenerate but is hindered thanks to that wretched detainment collar!"

The pillow launched across the room to strike the cracked glass in the wardrobe's mirror. Infinite's breath came in quick, raspy bursts and he hid his masked face in his hands.

They'd really done that to him? It certainly explained that grating noise he occasionally made. But why would they be so sick about it? Amy hugged her arms about herself, unsure where to go. Did she leave? Not that she could. Those chains were still tight around her wrists.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I don't know why they did that to you."

"I told you. They want to make me into a weapon."

"But to hurt you for their own amusement?"

"Some people are just sick, Amy." His eye seemed to grow distant and darker, and he dug his claws into the duvet. "They like to hurt others because they find it fun. Because they can. Or because they just want revenge."

He seethed, baring his sharp teeth at something imaginary. She half-expected him to lunge at it.

"Is that what you want, is it?" she asked. "Revenge?"

He turned his head towards her, a sad frown tugging at his lips in some kind of war with that raging snarl. But it was impossible to say whether he was sad or angry.

"I know they hurt you, but you can't just destroy the world over that," she said. "It's not okay. And you can't drag other innocent people into it all, either!"

He let out a grunt then flopped sideways onto the bed, covering his face again. "That's what I've done with you, isn't it? Dragged you into all this."

"Wait, what?" Amy's jaw dropped. "You're actually regretting it now?"

"Of course. GUN couldn't care less if you died, and if I let you go now they'd just use you to get to me."

"Oh, like you'd come to my rescue!"

"No, but they could drag the information out of you. That is if they don't just kill you for treason or something first."

"So you're keeping me around out of remorse?" she scoffed.

He paused and lowered his hands to stare at the wall. Silence. She'd nailed it and he knew it. She shook her head and perched on the edge of the bed beside him, drawing his eye.

"Look, I know you're not going to let me go anytime soon, and it's pointless of me to argue. And given I've made that deal with you, I'm not willing to throw that away if it can stop you destroying Mainframe. And I really think I can. You spared Sonic. I saw you hesitate. It makes me wonder if there is some hint of goodness in you. Something that's trying to tell you what you are doing is wrong. But… I think I'm going to find it hard to co-operate knowing you enjoy hurting people. I… can't tolerate that." She screwed her eyes shut as the memory flashed through her mind again. "That laugh haunts me."

He stared up at her silently, his lone eye trailing over her face as he tried to read her.

"I need to know you weren't laughing because you were enjoying it," she said.

"All right," he said. "I was laughing because I knew I could win."

She shook her head. "Truthfully? I don't want to be lied to, Infinite."

He took in a breath and met her eye. "I was laughing because I know I'm finally strong enough to destroy those who tormented me, and hurt me, and made my life a misery."

She sighed and turned to face her reflection in the wardrobe. "I want to say that's better, but it's really not."

They sat in silence for a moment, and he watched her reflection in the mirror.

"If it means anything," he said, "I won't hurt you."

"Until you have to destroy Mainframe?" She looked back down at him, and his eye widened. "What happened to you to make you like this?"

He turned his head away from her to fix on the wall, and his bushy tail brushed her arm as he flicked it up into his hands. He watched his fingers intently as he brushed them through it, lost in his own thoughts.

Amy sighed and pushed herself from the bed. She felt dirty, and not just from the water ride. All she wanted to do was get that awful night out of her fur. So she locked herself in the bathroom to take a long shower.

...

It was as if a brass band was marching through Tsunami's head, lead by a maniac beating a tin drum. She lifted a leaden arm to rub her forehead and forced her eyes open, but the blinding lights only made the chaotic anthem worse. A groan left her throat and she rolled onto her side, clasping her hands over her eyes as she tried to will the fog away. What had happened?

GUN.

She remembered GUN. And some crazed wolf… Infinite…

Decode!

Her eyes snapped open and she flinched back from the florescent lights. Somewhere in the distance she could just make out a static hum. Was her headset damaged? She reached for it, finding only her ear, and her heart sank. It all came rushing back to her.

GUN. They'd been captured. Where was everyone? Her heart galloped, and she pushed herself up and forced her eyes open, throwing them around the wide cell. Every turn of her head caused a throb behind her eyes but she forced herself to ignore it.

White walls and clean tiles, all fenced off behind a thin veil of flickering light. The source of the static noise. A forcefield. Control panel on the outside. There'd be no way she'd be hacking herself through that. A quick check of her person confirmed she wouldn't be able to even if the panel was on her side. Both her belts had been removed, leaving her unarmed and without her trusty tool pouch.

Unarmed. No contact with her team. Trapped.

As she turned around she realised she wasn't entirely alone. Rough lay on his back in the middle of the cell, one arm fastened over his face while his other hand twitched on the tiles. The spiked bands had been removed from his wrists. GUN had obviously discovered they contained hidden blades. She scooted to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He cracked an eye open and flinched, clasping his hand over his face. "Urgh. What on earth did I drink?"

"Come on, Rough, get up," she hissed.

"Nami?" He lowered his hand enough to squint at her as she helped him sit up. "What happened last night? I can't remember nothin'."

"I hope you're joking," she said. "Because it all came back to me pretty quickly."

He rubbed his hands over his muzzle and groaned, and Tsunami looked around the cell again. What passed as beds were three low benches against either wall. Clearly the GUN soldiers hadn't thought to make sure their captives were comfortable.

"Where's the rodent?" asked Rough.

He stared at the forcefield barring their escape between parted fingers.

"Who?" she asked.

"The kid who watches your navigation screen."

"Decode?" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. And he's a primate."

"Long fluffy tail, big eyes… give me that one." He pushed himself up, trembling slightly, and ventured over to the forcefield. "Let's see if we can get outta this joint, eh?"

Tsunami watched him as he scurried up and down the forcefield. "Have you any experience breaking out of high security cells?"

"Nah, only ever found myself in one once," he said. "Was an overnight stay for smashin' a bottle over Nack's head."

Tsunami's spine stiffened and she flashed a canine. "You smashed a bottle over someone's head?"

"He stiffed me outta my pay for some deal we went in on together," said Rough. "Besides, I didn't come outta it very well. That weasel has some serious muscle watchin' his back. Polar bear almost knocked my eye out the back o' my skull."

Tsunami sighed into her hands and rubbed her temples. "It wasn't the same guys you were tricking money out of in Pulse City, was it?"

"Oh aye. Guy might be a sly weasel but he sucks at Farkle. Easy way to pay him back for what he owes me." Rough yelped and snatched his hand back from the forcefield, stuffing his finger into his mouth. "Yeah, we ain't forcin' our way outta here any time soon."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes. "What, you thought you could just force your way through a barrier of electricity? Moron…"

"Give me some credit. What have you tried?" He sat down heavily beside her and shook his hand before stuffing it back into his mouth.

She looked him up and down then let out a defeated sigh. "I've got no hope getting out of here if I'm stuck with you. If I were with Crash we'd probably stand a fighting chance."

He glared at her silently, sucking away at his frazzled finger.

"It's like they thought 'what's the worst possible combination to stick them in'," she went on. "'Oh I know, let's stick the space pirate captain with the merc leader. They can't work together at all.'"

"We were workin' together just fine," he growled. "Now stop bein' a martyr! I can get us outta this. I just need time to think."

"With what?"

"Hey! I have you know I'm smart!" Rough leapt to his feet and pointed a finger at her. "Yeah I might've dropped outta school, but I were the brains o' my team! I got me 'n' my bro outta all kindsa scrapes! Now gimme a chance, all right?!"

He moved back to the forcefield, tail bristling as he paced up and down it, muttering to himself. Her shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for," she said. "It's just… I'm scared. I've not been separated from Crash before."

"An' I ain't never been separated from Tumble, either," he growled.

"And Decode's just a kid," she went on. "He's smart, but he's a kid. He uses his brain, he's not a fighter! I'm meant to protect him!" She screwed her eyes shut as the tears leaked out, and she had to wipe them away on her glove. "Even if we were apart, none of us would ever really be separated. We were always in contact with each other. This is different. Without my headset I don't even know if either of them are okay!" Her body began to shake with repressed sobs and her words came out as a near-incomprehensible slur. "I don't even know where they are! Are they even in this prison, or did GUN take them somewhere else?"

Rough slumped back down beside her and fastened his arms around her shoulders. She tensed at the contact but as he pulled her into his warm body she relaxed and those repressed sobs faded away into silent tears.

"It's gonna be okay, Nami."

"How can you say that?!" she spat.

"All right, it's bad. Sure. But look at it this way," he said. "We're alive. So it makes sense to assume they are n'all. I mean, why keep us alive 'n' not them? What difference does it make?"

"I'm the leader of Datastream," she said.

"Exactly. Those two are just followin' ya."

"They could use them to get to me."

"Maybe they realise that and that's why yer separated." He shrugged. "Psychological torture or somethin'."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Her voice was muffled by his fur.

"Aye. Make ya realise it's all in your head so you can help us get our tails outta here. Then we can find 'em and rescue 'em." He paused and let out a huff. "The Chaotix, n'all."

"You're right." She paused, clenching her fist over his furry shoulder. "I never did thank you for rescuing Crash, did I?"

"Not in so many words."

"Well, I appreciate it. A lot." She paused to take in a trembling breath. "Maybe… we can find some way to rescue your brother, too."

They fell into a brief silence and she became increasingly aware of the warmth of his fur, and of a scent that wasn't entirely skunky. Then she noticed his hand trailing up and down her back. And was he nuzzling her head? She snapped her eyes open and cleared her throat in a bid to dispel the sudden onset of awkwardness folding over her like a wet sheet.

"Okay." She pushed herself away from him, but he kept his arm around her shoulders. "I can't just give up. They wouldn't give up on me."

"Exactly."

She looked up at him, almost bumping his nose with hers. She narrowed her eyes and shrugged off his arm.

"If you think you can take advantage of me when I'm feeling like this…"

"Hey!" He appeared visibly wounded as he watched her climb to her feet. "Do you always think the worst of people?"

"I think the worst of space pirates," she said as she moved over to the forcefield.

"That's not what your brother told me." He joined her, moving to the opposite wall as they looked for any hidden weakness.

Tsunami jolted and glanced him out of the corner of her eye.

"He said you had this childhood dream of bein' whisked away by a space pirate." He flashed her a playful grin.

"I think the words 'childhood dream' answer that little theory for you." She turned away, trying to hide her blushing face as she intensely checked the wall. "So give up."

"Fat chance that's gonna happen, love," he said. "Now tell me… given you have scales, do you prefer mammals or reptiles?"

Her face twisted with disgust as she turned back to him, but all he did was shrug.

"I wanna know if I've got competition," he said.

"We are not having this conversation!"

"Fine."

So they continued their investigation in silence. But after an exhaustive search, there was no weakness in GUN's high security cells. No cameras inside it. No air ducts. No pulley systems to deliver food. No fault in the forcefield.

The pair sat on opposite sides of the cell, Tsunami curled up on one of the beds, as she wracked her mind for any potential escape plan. Any soldiers that showed up to lower the forcefield would be armed to the teeth. Was there any chance whatsoever of forcing her way through? No… surely she'd be killed. They'd be expecting it.

She glanced up to find Rough watching her, and not for the first time. It was beginning to make her uneasy and she found herself glancing back to the forcefield. The skunk had been silent for some time, and she'd at one point thought he'd drifted off. When she caught his eye, he glanced down at the bench and scratched his left ear.

"So what's you're plan once all this has blown over?" he asked.

"What?" she scoffed, somewhat aghast.

"Yanno. When we're outta here. That Infinite stuff has come to an end. All that jazz."

"You really think we're going to get out of this alive?" she scoffed. "Let alone get out of all this with our bounties scrubbed clean?"

"Hey, I'm an optimist."

She sighed and rolled onto her back, letting her hand flop over her face. "I guess it doesn't hurt to look on the bright side."

"I ain't lookin' on the bright side. I'm lookin' at a future where we're all free and there ain't no maniac threatenin' to destroy Mainframe." He chuckled. "And you implied I were the uneducated one?"

"Shut up, skunk."

"So go on," he said. "What's your plan?"

"Tell me yours first."

"Well, I'll have me brother back." She practically heard him grin. "An' a pretty girl on my arm called 'Nami'."

"Keep dreaming."

"Oh I will." He paused but she could feel him watching her again. "And you?"

She shifted her hand to look at the ceiling. White and bare and clinical. "I don't know. I suppose… I won't be working for GUN anymore."

"You'll still be a merc?"

She shrugged. "All this has been quite the eye opener. But probably. I mean, we need a job, and who's going to hire an ex-mercenary? We're not exactly the most trusted of occupations."

"People hire you though, right?"

"Yeah, to do the jobs that are too dirty for them to do," she said. "Mainly stopping space pirates. Or taking out rivals."

He fixed her in a sideways glance. "You ever got your hands dirty?"

"You mean have I ever killed anyone?"

He shrugged but she knew it meant 'yes.'

She fixed her eyes back on the ceiling. "I don't like it."

A brief silence passed between them and she found he wasn't watching her anymore.

"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth," she said. "I have nightmares. But let's face it - GUN would be a lot more brutal than we are. A quick death, or torture at their hands? Which would you rather?"

"Neither if I'm honest." He paused and let out a sigh. "I'd heard rumors where people refer to Datastream as 'killers'. Weren't sure if they were true."

"Do you think less of me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"You might be my next target."

Rough chuckled and shook his head. "I'd give you the run of your life, Nami. Mind you… I've heard you never miss your mark."

"I don't. Usually."

"Usually?" He rolled over so he was facing her. "You make it sound like you've deliberately missed."

"Hardly. Some people are just slippery. Like certain chameleons."

"That slimy sleeze gave you the slip then, eh?" His muzzle creased with disgust. "Show off."

"A little advice, skunk. If you want to win over a girl, stop with the jealous act."

He snorted and waved a hand. "Fine. What about your other targets?" He paused, catching her eye. "You ever had to kill someone you care about?"

She narrowed her eyes at him but he didn't so much as flinch. "It's not wise to form attachments in my line of work, pirate. Much like your own."

"The rumor that space pirates don't form attachments is just that. A rumor."

"Well the rumor that mercenaries don't is not." She shot him a glare. "So you'd be wise to stop pursuing me."

"Talkin' like that is just makin' me want to all the more." He grinned. "You're makin' it a challenge."

She glared back at him and he winked.

"I'll win you over eventually," he said.

She groaned and looked back up at the ceiling. "Seriously, how can you hit on me during a time like this."

He shrugged and flopped onto his back. "Ain't nothin' else to do."

He gave a wide yawn but cut it off as footsteps echoed into their cell. They both sat up slightly, and a huge shadow cast over the forcefield. A ocelot stepped into view, clutching a tray carrying two steaming bowls in one hand. The other hand clutched a pistol, and he searched the cell with fierce green eyes.

"Brought you your lunch," he gruffed. "Stay back while I give it to you."

He set the tray on the floor to free his hand and leant towards the panel. Tsunami could see what he had planned. Lower the forcefield, nudge the tray into the cell while keeping them at gunpoint, then erect the barrier again. She'd seen it done before. No gap to make an escape, especially when the prisoner was unarmed. It just made the situation seem all that more bleak. Even Crash would have had problems. The moment he curled into a ball, the soldier would take out whatever cellmates he had. And if he were alone, the soldier's backup would make his escape all that more difficult. Sure, Tsunami could curl into a ball, but she wasn't a living bullet like her brother.

Movement from the other bed drew her eye. Rough had sat up, perched with his hands on the edge of the bed. His eyes were fixed on the tray of food but the look on his face was calculating.

"Hold your breath," he muttered.

Before she could form a reply the barrier dropped, and Rough leapt from the bed in a striped blur. The cell filled with a thick smog and she screwed her eyes shut as it washed over her. Choking her and hampering her vision. The soldier let out a yell and there was a sick thud, followed by a grunt. When Tsunami managed to open her streaming eyes, she spotted Rough curled up on the floor, groaning as he nursed his jaw.

Her heart sank and she turned back to the forcefield. What was left of their lunch lay spilled on the floor. As for the soldier, he was long gone.

"Nice try," she grunted.

"Oh, I think it were."

He sat up, wiping blood from his mouth. His tail flopped to the floor, revealing his right hand. A baton.

She cocked an eyebrow and looked up into his grinning face.

"Pickin' pockets is one o' my talents." He brandished the baton and the striking end sparked with electricity. "We're gettin' out."

"How on earth do you plan to get out of here with a tazer?"

"Watch and learn, beautiful." He pushed himself up, swiping a trickle of blood from his rapidly swelling lip. "If I can get us both outta here alive, I think that earns me a date. Don't you?"

"It'll earn you a date if you can get the rest of my crew out of here."

Tsunami slipped from the bed, keeping her eye on him. Surely this would only end in failure? Her eyes widened when she saw him ignite the tazer and aim it at the forcefield.

"Don't!" she squeaked. "You'll fry yourself alive!"

"The handle's insulated," he said. "Trust me. I'd bet my tail on this."

As she recalled Tumble's missing tail, she began to wonder how often this was a common bet between the two brothers.

Rough brandished the sparking tazer, filling the cell with a deep, ominous hum. Then he stuffed it against the forcefield. Electricity danced from it, bouncing off the tiled floor. Then a flash filled the cell, dazzling Tsunami's eyes. Rough let out a yelp, rolling backwards from the forcefield in an eruption of sparks. Tsunami raised her hands to shield her head and grimaced as a few stray sparks peppered her arms. When she'd blinked the dazzle spots from her vision, she smoothed out the fur on her arms which stubbornly stood on end like grass. Rough groaned and pushed himself up, but he more resembled a blue and white pompom than a roguish space pirate.

A huge grin split his face and he looked up at her and winked. "I present to you one exit."

She followed his hand to the forcefield. Or lack thereof.

Her heart leapt and she slid from the bed, grabbing the space pirate by his scruff. "Come on then, before someone notices!"

He wriggled from her grip and rushed ahead of her, then paused to hand her the tazer baton. She took it then opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a wave.

"I've got my own weapon built in," he said. "Just watch my back, all right?"

She didn't need telling twice. She kept close to the skunk, keeping the baton ready as she followed him to the next cell. It didn't take long for the first soldiers to show up. They readied their guns, but Rough rolled towards them, engulfing them in his stink trail.

Tsunami leapt back from it into a horde of GUN soldiers, striking them with tail and baton. Bullets flew, clanking off her scales and the cold tiles of the tunnel walls. The other forcefields sparked and flickered as the bullets struck them, and a flurry of laser fire bounced down the corridor. Panicked yells and cries of distress came from the soldiers, and the stink from Rough's stink bomb attack filled the corridor causing Tsunami's eyes to stream once more.

But she didn't let it hinder her. She fought back, lashing out with her tail and sending the soldiers' feet out from under them. Then she performed a neat somersault, bringing her sharp tail down like a great sword. Soldiers fell under the cleaving scales, dropping their weapons as they scrambled back clutching at their wounds. She grabbed a pistol from one fallen soldier and fired it, disarming a gennet with a sniper rifle. To her surprise the pistol turned out to be a laser. Good. She knew how to handle one of those.

She stood back, checking over the fallen soldiers. Blood and fallen bodies littered the corridor, and groans rose into the air. She silently hoped none of their wounds were fatal. Just enough to keep them off her and Rough's tails as they tried to find the rest of their allies.

A red dot caught her eye, dancing over the geometric print on her dress. She looked up into the fierce eyes of a puma peering around a corner, his sniper rifle fixed on her. He was going for a heart shot.

He squeezed the trigger then keeled back, a stream of blood flowing from his shoulder as he vanished back around the corner. His bullet skimmed her right head scale and vanished into an air vent in the ceiling.

Rough joined her side and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him.

"You all right, Nami?"

"I'm fine." She lowered her pistol, trying to catch her breath. "Thanks."

He caught her eye and nodded, then motioned for her to follow after him. "Next cell ain't our guys. We're gonna have to sniff 'em out."

"It was never going to be easy, was it?"

She sighed and followed after him, keeping an eye open for any sign of their allies, and deeply hoping it would be much easier than she was fearing.

...

**Review Replies:**

**The Ever-Dreaming Kitten - Thanks for all the reviews! I'm stoked you're enjoying this! I can't give spoilers, but Tail's lack of emotion certainly does have reason. You'll find out soon enough! I'm glad you find the Chaotix in character, and enjoy Team Datastream. I do get a little nervous creating OCs! (And changing canon characters' personalities, reason or not! Let's say I've tried to avoid doing that too much in this story without good reason!) I hope you continue to enjoy!**

**Thanks everyone! As always, please R&R! =D**


	14. PW Chapter 14

**A/N - Sorry if there are any errors I've overlooked. I've been distracted this morning, in a good way. We have company and I've been trying to natter (and watch dinosaur TV programs!) while proof reading this chapter.**

**Thanks so much everyone for all reviews, reads, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Fourteen

The siren blared as soldiers flooded down the corridors towards the high security cells. Gadget slammed his office door and rounded back on the holoscreen.

"You lost The Raptor?!" he shrieked.

The porcupine soldier flinched back from him, clasping a hand over his bandaged head. The wolf watched him sink further into the clean, white pillow of a hospital bed. The holo-screen didn't reveal much else.

"If you haven't realised already," Gadget went on, "those criminals are already much more trouble than they're worth! And you lost their stinking ship?!"

The soldier trembled, but whether it was from fear or exhaustion Gadget couldn't care less.

"Who was it?" he asked more calmly. "Did you see them?"

"I didn't see anyone," said the soldier. "They snuck up on me."

Gadget tapped his lip and glanced away from the screen. Team Datastream had three registered members. The Chaotix were also a team of three. The skunk was merely a tag-along, most likely in a bid to rescue his brother from GUN. Was there some other tag-along they'd missed? Or was it a stowaway hijacking the ship?

He turned back to the soldier, now grimacing as he tried to sip his drink. "I'll get someone else on it. Thank you for your help."

Those final words had been thick with sarcasm, and the soldier had picked up on it. But before he could even begin to beg, Gadget switched off the screen.

Fantastic. That datachip was very likely still on The Raptor somewhere. Not only did he have to track down Infinite, he now had a ship to find and criminals to herd back to their cells. The soldiers could take care of the latter. That, and his Wreckingball Prototype. His eye went to the folder left neatly on his desk and his entire body tingled. Now was as good a time as any to try that out, and silence Datastream and the Chaotix for good.

As for the ship, his soldiers could deal with that, too.

...

Infinite yawned until his jaw popped, drawing Amy's attention from the colourful clothing stand. She shook her head and turned back to her perusing. But not before pausing to look over at the stand opposite them, that had been neatly sorted and rearranged by the jackal only a little while prior. Wherever she'd stopped to muse, he'd promptly occupied himself by 'tidying' the rails, so intently that shoppers had stopped to ask him where things were. Then he'd send them off blindly to a random area of the shop and chuckle to himself as he returned to his obsessive sorting.

That was, until the shop assistants asked him to stop or leave. In all fairness, he'd been pretty quiet until he'd grown bored.

He caught her eye then yawned again, just to make his point.

"If I'm boring you, then go and wander," she said. "I think there's a rack of jeggings over there you've not harassed yet."

"I can't." He shook his hand to jangle the chain, which made very little noise yet served as a cruel reminder. "It doesn't stretch that far. I'm as confined to you as you are to me." Then he turned and muttered, "Unfortunately."

"I thought you could lengthen and shorten it at will."

"Within limits. If I go too far, it will vanish."

"Really?" She turned her head to fix wide eyes on him, getting a smirk in return.

"Don't get any ideas," he said. "It's only if I go far enough away, not you."

She tutted and turned back to the dresses. "Then I guess you didn't really think this through then?" She tugged out a red dress to scan her eyes over it then stuffed it back where she'd found it. "Well I might be a while. If you'd just let me stay in my apartment, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"I don't see why you can't just wash and re-wear your current dress."

Amy's face flushed and she looked around at the other shoppers. Thankfully no one had heard him.

She rounded on him, quills bristling. "Do you have no sense of modesty?! What would I wear in the mean time?"

"You're already wearing something! You have fur." He waved a hand at his own body. "Like me. What do you need clothes for?"

"I'm a girl!" She turned back to the clothing rack before her face began sending a land warning to passing ships. "Good grief. It's little wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

Infinite rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "This is the most boring thing ever."

"Stop complaining, or we're not stopping for snacks."

The jackal fell silent as Amy continued her search through the various dresses. She'd already found two she liked in another shop, but they were pretty similar in colour. A red backless dress with a white trim, and a white dainty little thing with a red floral print. She wanted something different. She pulled a lemon yellow summer dress out to look over it, but found it promptly taken from her hands.

"No." Infinite stuffed it back onto the rail.

"No?" she scoffed.

"It's yellow," he said. "Why on earth would you wear yellow?"

"So you don't like pink. You don't like yellow. What do you like?"

"I have no gripes with the colour yellow, Pink Freak," he said. "It just clashes. Makes you look like colour vomit. You'll give some poor unsuspecting soul a migraine." He pushed her aside and began yanking the dresses along the rail, making each coat hanger screech along the metal.

"But I like yellow!"

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "Well it isn't your colour. Are you a fashion designer or what?"

As he turned back to his frantic searching, Amy balled her hands into fists and seethed. But all anger drained from her when he spun on his heel, holding up a black dress before her with a thoughtful look on his face. Blue ribbing ran down its sides reminiscent of fibre tubes.

"Nope." He turned back to the rail. "Blue doesn't work either."

Amy gave a mournful look to her blue neck tie. "Really?" Then she narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. "How on earth do you of all people know this?"

"I paint."

Her jaw went slack as the image of him stood before a blank canvas nibbling on the tail end of a paintbrush crossed through her mind.

"That surprises me," she said. "You don't strike me as an artist. I mean, they make things. Not destroy them."

He turned his head slightly to see her over his shoulder, only briefly. But she thought she saw him sigh.

"I've not had much chance since I landed in Mainframe," he said. "But back in my own world it was a nice, relaxing past time. I'd hardly call myself an artist."

Before she could interject, he turned with a flourish to brandish yet another dress before her torso. Another black one, with a neon-green and pink pattern decorating its hem, crisscrossing like the intricate wires of a chipboard. Straps crisscrossed over its bare back. His muzzle twisted, but not with disgust.

"I thought it would take the edge off your pinkness," he said.

She tried to catch his reluctant eye with an unimpressed scowl. "And does it?"

He shook his head slowly, but she found the dress thrust into her hands regardless.

"If you're just rushing me-" she said.

"It works. Buy it."

He spun back to the rail to continue rifling through them, only this time he pulled out the odd dress to stick it back somewhere else.

Amy sighed and turned the dress so she could see the front. The pink and green pattern continued up from the hem towards the collar in an hourglass shape. Not ordinarily something she would have gone for, but she found herself actually liking it. And much to her surprise, the label declared it was her size.

"I'm not sure it's really me," she said. "Maybe I should try it on?"

Infinite froze in his sorting to fix her with a look of disgust. But it melted away quickly as he gave a sigh of defeat.

"It will be fine," he said bluntly. "The green would work with your eyes. But if you don't believe me…"

She jolted at those words, but he still had his back to her. He'd actually paid attention enough to make such a statement? She gave the dress another look, and much to her surprise it found itself in her little cotton basket.

"Okay. I'll take your word for it." She had to admit she'd had enough of his griping. Three dresses would do. She secured the basket over her arm and turned towards the cash register. "Let's just go. I'm getting hungry anyway."

She swiftly paid for the dress then led the jackal out of the shop. He made no offers to carry her bag, not that she minded. She usually enjoyed shopping, and she was going to make the most of it even if it didn't feel like freedom. At least she wasn't cooped up in a pokey hotel room filled with bugs.

The next stop was the mini market. She spent a good while around the pastries, picking out her favourites while Infinite dropped strange flavours into the basket. Without a bag. So while she bagged them up, the odd jackal made a beeline for the tins. Was he seriously looking to get tinned products? The hotel didn't exactly have self catering.

No. It wasn't the tins he was after. She joined him by the sandwich spreads and promptly found seven large jars of peanut butter plonked into her basket. Her arm jerked under the weight and she staggered backwards as she desperately clutched it in both hands.

Infinite took it from her and carried it effortlessly back towards the cash register.

"But I'm not done yet," she said.

"Well I am," he replied with a hint of innocence in his voice.

Amy was about to protest but her eye went to a display of sweets. She grabbed a large bar of chocolate. Then another when she realised she might be forced to share. But the jackal didn't appear remotely interested. As they laid the goods out for the cashier, Infinite claimed one of the jars of peanut butter and tugged the lid off before she'd even finished paying.

She made sure he had a canvas bag looped over his arm before they left the shop, but it didn't hinder his ravenous assault on the peanut butter in the slightest. His right glove hung down inside the bag, safely out of harm's way.

He licked the spread off his fingers, drawing looks of disgust and shock from passers by.

"You could have waited until we got back to the hotel," said Amy.

"I'm hungry now," he replied.

"And you would still be hungry when we get back to the hotel. So what difference does it make?"

"Exactly." He fixed his lone eye on her as he licked his fur. "I really don't see what the problem is."

She shook her head and pushed herself on, trying to tune out the peculiar jackal. A brief, shrill siren filled the air and she nudged him closer to the walls as a towering Strider Drone marched past. Its alarm call nothing more than an alert to its presence for oblivious passers by. Infinite looked up at it with a mixture of surprise and curiosity, while the other pedestrians merely made sure they were out of the way of its long spindly legs. It cared as much about them as they did it, turning its long neck left and right as it kept its lone eye open for any sign of trouble.

Infinite followed Amy as she rounded the corner towards the outskirts, and a strange buzzing reached them. He swatted at his ear with his sticky hand and growled, muttering something about 'bothersome robots' while frantically searching for the source of the buzz. It appeared before them as a metal chao drifted down at eye level.

"Excuse me," it said. "My name is Omachao. I am the assistant android for Team Datastream, and I am afraid I need your help."

Infinite paused mid-lick and pointed. "I know you."

"Precisely," said Omachao. "I have been looking for you, Mister Infinite. Would you and Miss Rose care to assist me? I am afraid my masters have found themselves in quite the pickle."

"Datastream." Amy stared at the shadow below the robot chao. "They were in that battle. In Twinkle Park."

"That is where they went missing, yes. The Raptor was apprehended, but I got it this far to find you. I am afraid my combat skills are not fantastic."

Infinite closed his eyes and marched past Omachao. "Forget it."

Amy glanced back at the chao as she was dragged past him. He turned in the air, his expression remaining emotionless.

"I am afraid I cannot do that," he said. "Erasing such information would hinder my duties to Team Datastream."

Infinite faltered and turned his lone eye onto the robot. It drifted over to them and hovered at face height.

"Team Datastream are more than just my masters," he went on. "They care for me, and I return the favour to the best of my abilities. They are in GUN's hands now. What does one do in this situation?"

Infinite stared at the chao for a long moment, who waited patiently for his answer. Amy looked between the two as the jackal's face became once again unreadable.

"Loyalties, eh?" he finally said. "All right. I'll help you get them back. I owe GUN a world of pain anyway."

"Thank you most kindly," said Omachao.

"And cut with the formality, android," said Infinite. "I'm not your master. Where's this ship?"

"I believe you will find it cloaked over Station Square," explained Omachao. "That was the best place for me to leave it while I narrowed down your location."

"Fantastic." Infinite turned to head back the way they'd come, stuffing his hand into his peanut butter. Then faltered.

Amy shook her head and moved ahead of him, retracing her steps back towards Central City. Omachao buzzed on ahead. Backwards.

"How, may I ask, shall I attempt to go about dropping formalities, Mister Infinite?" he asked.

"You can stop calling me Mister, for one thing." The jackal stuffed his peanut-butter coated hand into his mouth.

"Then what would you like me to call you?"

Amy looked up at the jackal as he struggled to swallow his mouthful. A spark ignited in her mind as she saw an opportunity to turn the tables against his favour.

She turned to the chao and beamed. "You could call him Niffy instead?"

Infinite choked, spluttering peanut butter, and he fixed Amy with a dumbfounded expression.

"Very well," said Omachao. "I shall henceforth refer to you as Niffy."

...

No sooner had Tsunami reached the next occupied cell, soldiers had rained down on both her and Rough. Espio and Charmy had taken a different route, leaving Tsunami with her trusty tazer baton. It had made short work of the panel locking their cell, but did very little to keep soldiers at bay. Oh how she missed her laser.

Rough rushed ahead of her to draw some of them away, but the pair soon found themselves surrounded. She caught a glimpse of the cell behind the SWAT soldiers, catching Vector's eye. She deeply hoped he was trapped with Crash or Decode, or both.

Several red dots flickered over her scales and contrasted with Rough's dark fur.

"Get back to you cell," said the lead soldier. "I won't tell you twice."

Rough clenched his fists and bared his canines, but he didn't move to to attack. Why? Tsunami glanced down at him, almost willing him to unleash his stink bomb. He'd not hesitated back at their cell, or when clearing the path for the space pirates. What was the difference now?

The soldier lifted his rifle with a click, and the dot trailed up her torso towards her throat. She tutted and brought her tail up like a shield. The soldiers unleashed a rain of projectiles which clinked off her scales and knocked her back against the wall. Rough shouted and ducked towards her, and he flinched behind her tail with a grunt. Red blood seeped out from his left shoulder to pool down his arm, and he clutched it tightly.

Real bullets. Not tranquilizers. These soldiers weren't messing around.

"We ain't gettin' outta here, are we?" he moaned.

"We might stand a chance if you gas them," she suggested.

"I can't. I'm all out."

So it was limited? Tsunami grimaced as the direness of their situation fell heavily upon her.

The bullet assault lessened but she didn't lower her tail. If she moved they might fire again.

"Last chance," said the soldier.

Tsunami lowered her tail a fraction, just so she could see the lead soldier. He narrowed his eyes at her but the red dot didn't leave its mark. A small movement caught her eye and she thought she glanced Espio creeping along the wall towards them. A hopeful thought, or a potential rescue? Whichever it was, she wasn't about to blow their chances of escaping.

She gave the soldier a nod and he nodded at his soldiers. Those closest to him lowered their weapons and moved towards her, reaching towards their belts for their cuffs.

"No. Leave them."

The soldiers froze and everyone turned towards the voice. It was one Tsunami recognized, and it didn't exactly fill her hope. The red wolf, Gadget, marched down the corridor with his own soldiers beside him. And behind him towered a cream-coloured animal Tsunami couldn't quite place. The soldiers leapt into a panic, some training their weapons on the creature. Red dots peppered its fur as the rifles leapt into action, and a low growl rose from deep within its throat.

"Lower your weapons!" Gadget hissed.

Most of the soldiers complied instantly, while a few hesitated until forced to do so under the wolf's piercing glare.

Tsunami couldn't take her eyes off the creature. Its entire head was covered with a box-like helmet, petering out into a point at the muzzle. The only thing serving its eyes was a narrow slit that glowed red. Blue lights flickered on either side of its temples as if the helmet was processing some kind of wireless signal. It swung its head around and growled, pawing a the helmet like something in pain.

"Tumble?" Rough gasped.

The soldiers surrounding them backed away slowly, their wide eyes refusing to leave the cream skunk. A couple of them trembled from ear to tail, their weapons rattling in their hands. Tumble grunted and took a step towards them, but Gadget lifted a hand to place it on his chest.

"Easy, there." The wolf turned back to the soldiers. "You might want to stay still. He's attracted to movement."

"What have you done to my brother?!" Rough leapt from behind Tsunami. "That ain't him! You've done somethin'!"

Tumble lurched forwards and raised a pair of heavily gauntleted hands. Long claws stuck out from the cuffs and he brought them down towards his brother. Rough leapt back, whisking his tail out of harm's way.

"Rough!" Tsunami gasped, dropping her tail before her feet.

That was enough for the soldiers. They broke apart from each other, and a good number of them took off down the corridor. Rough, however, took a few mere steps back, refusing to take his eyes off his brother. Tumble hissed as he watched the fleeing soliders.

"Brother?" Rough raised a hand towards him.

Tumble locked back onto Rough and froze as the blue lights flickered erratically, then he straightened to return to his position behind Gadget. The wolf tutted and shook his head.

"I warned you he's attracted to movement," he said.

"What've you done?" Rough whimpered.

"He works for me now," said Gadget. "Much like you lot will when I'm done with you. He is the first prototype for Project Wreckingball. A fall-back, given you stole my original model."

"Stole your original model," Tsunami spat, turning to face the wolf. "Infinite is a living being. Whether or not he's alien to this world gives you no right to-"

Gadget dragged a pistol from inside his lab coat and aimed it at Tsunami. "You might want to watch your words, young lady. It would be a pity to lose someone with your strength."

Her muzzle creased in a sneer. "Go on then. Shoot. I'd rather die than be turned into that." She nodded towards the cream skunk.

"So would I." Rough choked back tears and shook his head. "I'm sorry, brother. I let you down…" He sank to his bottom.

Tumble jerked and leapt over Gadget's head. Tsunami let out a gasp and screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to watch the smaller skunk's fate. A yelp came from beside her and she found herself twisting towards it. Espio's purple body flew down the corridor from Tumble's gauntlets, leaving a trail of blood droplets in his wake. One of his kunai bounced off the floor and embedded itself between two tiles. The skunk landed on him and froze once more as the blue lights' pattern altered. Tumble slowly reared back up with Espio dangling by his tail from the skunk's clenched fist.

"Well done," said Gadget. "I didn't see that one. I guess that advanced thermal tracking technology paid off." He moved towards Tumble and nudged the unconscious chameleon with the nozzle of his gun. Then he turned back to his soldiers. "Where's the bee?"

"Locked back in his cell, doc," said the lead soldier.

"Good. I'm not sure how he'll benefit our project, but we'll find him a role."

"So you're turning people into mindless weapons?" Tsunami asked.

"I'd hardly call them 'mindless'," said Gadget. "They're perfectly controlled by their handler's own thoughts. Although there are some kinks to iron out before we fully launch Project Wreckingball. Like this fellow's attraction to movement."

The wolf flicked his tail from side to side in an almost lazy fashion and fixed the pangolin with a smirk.

"Funny," she said. "He doesn't seem inclined to attack you."

"That's because I keep his focus on anyone else but me," said the scientist. "I'm not an idiot." He turned back to his soldiers and frowned. "Now… See to it these three are locked away. Securely! J50021 will assist you."

Tumble turned to follow the soldiers back down the corridor, with Espio swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Gadget followed behind his stub of a tail, keeping his full attention on the mind-controlled skunk.

Tsunami was lost for words. She barely noticed a polecat drag her from the wall and secure cuffs about her fists, before forcing her to follow the soldiers with the harsh nozzle of his rifle. Rough was in no better state. And he had nothing to say when he released her again and the cell's forcefield flashed to life behind them.

Tumble marched away from them to follow Gadget to Espio's cell. The polecat watched them go then caught Tsunami's eye. She met it with a sneer but sat silently, watching him as he shifted uneasily.

"I don't like this any more than you do," he said quietly.

"Then why are you doing it?" she hissed.

The polecat's expression blanked and he backed away from their cell to vanish back down the corridor.

"It's over, ain't it, Nami?"

Rough sat in the middle of the floor beside a growing pool of blood that continually dripped from his arm. She tugged her scarf free and shuffled over to him to fasten it around his shoulder.

He placed his face in his free hand and sobbed. "What've they done to him?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed."

Of course, she didn't know that for certain. But throwing a little hope into the heavy air felt needed. She secured her scarf around his arm and fell back onto her knees.

"We'll get that helmet off him and things will return to normal," she said.

He looked up from his hand and let it fall into his lap. "You think it's just the helmet?"

She watched him for a moment as she mulled it over, then let out a small sigh. "I honestly don't know. But he seemed to recognize you."

"He didn't kill me 'cos that mad wolf wouldn't let him," Rough scoffed.

"How do you know that?"

"How do you know he recognized me?" He tried to catch her eye but she dodged it. "You don't. We saw the same thing, Nami. You saw him hesitate, and I saw them lights flashin'. He's completely under Gadget's control and there ain't nothin' we can do about it."

"We can. We can remove his helmet and free him."

"Yeah, if we can even get outta this joint. And that's if they ain't done somethin' else to him, n'all." Rough grimaced as he pulled his wounded arm up onto his lap. "They could'a done anythin'. You seen what EggTech is out there. Who's to say he ain't got some kinda mind control implant and that helmet is all show? He might be lost for good, and we're gonna meet the same fate if they don't kill us first."

Well that shot down her little hope beacon. Tsunami rose to her feet and paced back to the forcefield. No sign of any of the soldiers, and any noise from them was faint. She hugged her arms around herself, keeping her sights on the empty corridor.

"I'm not letting go of hope just yet," she said.

"What, you seriously lookin' for another way outta here?" Rough snorted his surprise. "We've tried, Nami. And we failed. What hope is left?"

"I dunno." She shuffled her feet and followed a faint shadow as it drifted away on her right. "But I'm beginning to think there are more people on our side here than we realize."

...

**A/N - The Strider Drones are inspired by the two-legged robot things in Horizon Zero Dawn. I love the robot designs in that game.**

**Tumble's behaviour with the helmet on is inspired by Type:Null in Ambyssin's fanfiction Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Guiding Light. I like the idea that such a horrible helmet would cause pain and discomfort to the wearer, and I kept picturing Tumble reacting in the same way.**

**Review Replies:**

**The Ever Dreaming Kitten - Thanks for reading =) Funny you should say that about Gadget. I did a lot of research into psychopath and sociopath behaviour, planning on Infinite having some of those traits. Instead, Infinite ended up being somewhat quirky while Gadget ended up becoming the psychopath of the story, completely to my surprise! I think it worked out pretty well, tbh.**

**Rycorop - Nice to see you again! =D Yes, Rough and Tumble definitely deserve more love! I'm glad I added them into this story, too. They're a delight to write.**

**Thanks again everyone! As always, please R&R! =D**


	15. PW Chapter 15

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! You're in for a long chapter this time as Project Wreckingball reaches its climax! =D I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter Fifteen

Amy didn't feel at home in the air. The Raptor's smooth movements did little to settle her stomach, and she was growing tired of her ears popping. She slumped down the corridor from the bathroom towards the bridge, hoping for some news that they were finally nearing their destination.

Infinite sat back in the captain's seat with his feet on the dash and his arms tucked behind his head. Amy couldn't help but wonder if the captain of Datastream would scold him for such blatant disrespect. Or was it just sheer obliviousness to rules? She was willing to bank it on the former as the chain tugged at her wrist, and his lone eye sparkled with amusement. He'd only dropped it in the first place because he knew there was no chance of her throwing herself out of the hatch in a desperate bid to escape. Add to that, her phone had run its battery dry. So it's not as if she could have contacted anyone for help if she'd wanted to.

Oh well. Phone or no phone, that brief night of freedom had been good while it lasted.

She smoothed down the front of her dress. Red with a white lace trim. She'd considered the one he'd picked out, then decided against it. For some reason she didn't understand, she couldn't bring herself to try it on. She kept trying to tell herself it wasn't because she was worried it would get damaged during whatever he was hoping to accomplish back at GUN's cells.

Butterflies erupted through her stomach and her hands turned clammy. What on earth had she got herself into? A raid on GUN? Couldn't he just let her go rather than dragging her along? She slumped down into the chair by the navigation deck, where Omachao was busying himself with the computer. He looked up at her and closed his mechanical eyes in a smile.

"Good morning, Miss Rose!" he said.

She groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Is it?"

"If you have a headache, there are medical supplies in the kitchen?"

"I think I'm okay. It's just this atmosphere."

"I've heard this lifestyle takes some getting used to for you flesh and blood creatures," said Omachao. "There is also coffee in the kitchen, if that is more to your liking?"

She didn't need telling twice. She rose before he could even explain he was a little too busy to offer it personally. The chain tugged as she left the door, and she glanced back to see Infinite rising to follow her. She muttered under her breath as the dream for 'a little more peace and quiet' grew further and further away.

She found the caffetiere and poured herself a mug, sighing as the smell of coffee filled the small kitchen. She then located the pastries she'd left on the counter, still wrapped in the carrier bag. She selected an apricot swirl and turned to join Infinite at the table, freezing mid-step under the jackal's piercing gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you any good at fighting?"

She almost choked on her pastry, and coffee sloshed over the side of her mug. She steadied herself and placed the latter on the table. He kept watching her as she carefully perched on the stool and wiped crumbs from her muzzle.

"What are you getting at?" she croaked.

"Let's face it, Freak, it's very likely to get nasty when we arrive at GUN," he said slowly. "If you're gonna be a dead weight-"

"I can handle myself just fine when I have my hammer," she said. "But someone made me leave that behind!"

"So once someone disarms you, you are about as much use as a chocolate teapot?"

"I-"

"A paper umbrella?"

"No, I-"

"The 'g' in lasagne?"

The poor pastry found itself smooshed in Amy's hand, bringing her to the stark realization she was still wearing her gloves. She sighed and strove to wipe the apricot jam away with a paper napkin.

She then fixed her livid eyes on Infinite's and said in a low growl, "I am not useless."

"Good," he purred. "Then you can help me destroy them."

Suddenly the pastry didn't seem appealing anymore. Neither did the coffee.

"You expect me to kill people?!" she squeaked.

Infinite narrowed his eye. "They're evil, Amy."

"I don't care! I'm not going to help you kill anyone!"

He stared across the table at her, keeping her gaze on his. It was impossible to look away. She clasped her hands together if only to stop them from shaking. It wasn't successful.

"Funny," he said. "I wonder if they'll hold the same sentiment towards you?"

"It wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't dragged me into all this," she said. "You're the one who decided to drag me along, completely against my will! I was living a peaceful, happy life until you came crashing through my window!"

He inclined his head on one side and she thought he raised an eyebrow. "'Happy'?"

"Yes," she added with some bitterness.

He let out a grunt and tapped his claws on the table. "That's not the impression I got."

"What? Are you going to tell me you were on some noble mission to rescue a girl from boredom, now?" she scoffed. "Well I was happy! I had friends, a career, a home. What makes you think I wasn't?"

"Simple. You didn't want to be there."

Her jaw hung open as she stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Besides, it wasn't a bid to save you from anything," he went on. "I was keeping you around out of convenience. That way, I'd know where you were and what you were doing. You know… not ratting me out to GUN, or getting your soldier lover-boy involved."

She leant across the table, flashing her canines, but he didn't so much as flinch. "I wanted to be there! It was my home!"

"Did you?"

She huffed a couple of times, digging her fingers into the metal-topped table. "What do you know?"

"Simple." He leant back on his stool, surprisingly not toppling off it. "All I had to do was touch you."

"You said doing that lets you know if someone is evil or not," she scoffed. "What does that have to do with whether or not I wanted to live in my own home?"

"It gives me an insight into what someone desires most in life," he said flatly. "And that, Pink Freak, reveals to me whether or not someone is evil. If they desire evil, then that's exactly what they are."

She stuttered, eyes widening as she sank back onto her stool.

"And I know full well you don't want to be in that pokey apartment," he went on. "You want to be with that blue spiky freak, living in some dainty little cottage out in the suburbs where, in the back garden, you keep chickens…" He wagged a finger. "Just for the eggs. Blue boy gives up his government job to help you in your little bakery, which you own because the glitz and glam of the life of a fashion designer isn't want you thought it would be."

Amy's stuttering worsened as she stared back at him with the expression of someone who had just received an unexpected slap.

Infinite shrugged and gave her a half-smirk. "Found that little nugget out the first day we met, sugar." Then he added, "It was quite refreshing, actually."

"How on earth do you know all that from one touch?" she gasped.

"Easy," he said. "The Phantom Ruby reveals someone's heart's desire."

Her eye went to the red jewel. "And that's what that is?"

"What, this?" He placed a hand on it and shook his head. "This is a fake. A copy. It pales in comparison."

"Oh good." She sipped at her coffee, but it did little to settle her nerves. "I'd dread to think what the real one could do."

Infinite snorted, drawing her attention back to him. "You think my powers come from the fake alone? Don't be so naive."

"Then what? Do you have the original one hidden on you or something?"

He examined his claws then licked his lips a few times. "You could say that."

She looked back up at his face slowly. "Then where is it?"

"You're talking to it."

Her quills stood on end down her back. What on earth did that mean? He wasn't a jackal? He stooped to reach beneath the table then popped back up with a half-demolished jar of peanut butter. He tugged the lid off and discarded his left glove to scoop some out. He couldn't honestly just leave it at that? Like it was the most normal thing to announce to someone. He'd just announced he was some mysterious jewel! Unless it was just the name of the experiment he was a part of? Like 'Project Wreckingball'.

But the ruby she could see was a copy. So that only meant…

She placed a hand on her head and leant onto the table. "I don't think I understand."

"Of course you don't," he said simply. "It was alien to my world, as well."

"Then what is it?"

He shrugged as he licked peanut butter off his fingers. "I've not fully figured it out yet."

"But you said that's what you are, so how can you not know?!"

"I told you I was an experiment," he said. "Okay… let me put in some way you'll understand. When Eggman first showed up in this world, what had happened exactly?"

She sighed and dragged both hands through her quills. "There was an explosion. It tore open some strange… otherworldly anomaly."

"Null Space."

"That's what they've been calling it, yes."

"Did they ever find out what exploded?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Some lab," she said. "They don't know why."

He chuckled and fell into silence as he licked his fur with all the focus of a domestic cat. Amy stared down at her hands, the right glove stained yellow against the white thanks to the apricot.

"Have you done the maths yet?" he finally asked.

She looked back up at him with a blank expression, and he rolled his eye and sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it for you," he said. "One lab explodes in your world. Another explodes in mine." He jabbed a thumb into his ruff. "I was the experiment that exploded in Mobius! That's why I arrived in your world half-dead. Eggman was trying to fuse me with a fake Phantom Ruby Prototype. The only one that had any power that even rivaled the original, but it took its power from the real Phantom Ruby, like a leech. It could do most of the things the original could, but one of the things it could not do was reveal someone's heart's desire. But it was enough. It could alter reality with powerful illusions, which is what Eggman wanted.

"In order to fuse it to me, he needed to use the original to power the machine. I don't know why, I'm not a scientist. I was just a tool he wanted to use to exploit the Phantom Ruby's power. But during that explosion, the entire lab was destroyed. Eggman and I were both thrown into Mainframe, me half-dead. The Phantom Ruby itself, completely obliterated. Or so one might think."

He paused to lick more peanut butter from his hands to give Amy enough time to digest that information. She nodded slowly and folded her hands together.

"So what happened to it?" she asked. "If you say you are it, then…"

"It fused with me," he said. "Somehow. I'd say it fused with the fake, but that doesn't make sense. You see, the Phantom Ruby has some level of sentience. It's a nomad. It has some kind of ability to allow it to travel through time and space. We don't know what happened to prompt it to appear in Mobius, but it did, and Eggman found it. It also seems very aware of its own existence, and does what it can to protect itself. When he tried to break part of it away, it would confuse him. Some kind of self-defense. Throw illusions in the air. Disorienting pink mist.

"So when the lab exploded, taking the Phantom Ruby with it, it must have done something to secure its existence. Something desperate, if it decided to fuse itself with a mortal body. It didn't take me long to realise something was amiss. When I came to, the first thing to greet me were curious scientists and surgeons. And every single person who touched me had their heart's desire revealed to them as it unfolded around us like a children's pop-up book. It threw me, and everyone who witnessed them, into a full-blown panic. When I started demolishing the lab, that's when they had to bring me under control. Then they had to bring out the detainment collar, programmed to halt the Phantom Ruby's abilities, leaving me with little to no way of working it out. But I question it. Why choose me? Why choose a feeble, weak body that can tire out and become exhausted, when there was other solid matter lying around? Why choose something that needs to eat, drink and sleep in order to function over, say, a rock that can just go on existing regardless? But of course, it can't answer me."

Amy's breath trembled and she brushed back her quills. "That's a lot to take in."

Infinite screwed the lid back onto the peanut butter and set the jar back under the table. "You're not the one who has to live with it."

She tapped her fingers on the table as she tried to take it all in, her eyes once more going to the fake one in his chest.

"So if the fake one can use its power," she said, "then does that mean…"

He clenched his teeth together and tutted. "Not so dumb, are you, Pink Freak?"

She shook her head, deciding to ignore his insult. "Why are you telling me all this? I mean, it's information that could be easily used against you! If GUN found out about this, then they could-"

"You think I don't know that?" he asked. "I've kept all this under my hat for years, Amy, and with good reason. I was in their clutches for five stinking decades! I've watched their plans change and alter until they came up with this idea for their dumb living weapons! I made a strong point of never so much as breathing it. I know what they could do with it, and every worse-case scenario has played through my mind the more I've dwelt on it."

"Then why tell me?"

"Because it doesn't mean anything to you."

Her mouth flapped open and closed as she sought the right words. Infinite leant across the table towards her and she leant back as far as she could without falling off the stool. His nose almost brushed hers and his breath came in awkward rasps as the edge of the table pressed into his ribs.

"Do you want to use me?" he asked. "Abuse this power to alter reality for your own personal gain?"

"No," she squeaked. "Why would I?"

"You could get that cottage you've always wanted," he said. "Make your dream a reality and you wouldn't even need to work hard to get there."

That image crossed her mind. The lush garden and its flower beds. The clucks of chickens on the light, summer breeze. She shook her head and screwed her eyes shut.

"But it would feel so empty," she said. "So pointless."

He grinned and let out a purr of a growl as he sank back into his seat. "Exactly. A sentimental heart like yours wouldn't want it because it would feel so meaningless."

Amy clutched her coffee mug like a life-line as everything rapidly sank in. The extremeness of it all. The danger level suddenly cranking itself up to eleven.

"If GUN got their hands on you again knowing all this…" She trailed off, staring into the dwindling steam as it rose from her mug. The consequences didn't even bare thinking about.

Infinite fell into an unnerving silence, his eye boring into her like a drill. She jumped as he slammed his hand on the table, lighting the metal surface up with a crimson light as the Phantom Ruby's energy flared around him. Then it fizzled out, and Amy let out a small gasp as she spotted the over-sized mallet clutched in his fist. Not entirely dissimilar to her own.

"Take it," he said.

She stared down at it, her fingers twitching as she tried to work out whether or not it was actually a trap. It wasn't her mallet. The ornamentation along the handle was all wrong. Red jewels that looked awfully similar to the one Infinite bore, forming a neat trail along the white handle, tipped by a red diamond-shaped gem.

He took her hand in his and placed it on the mallet's handle. "Take it."

So she did. She secured her fingers around it and pulled it towards her. Heavy, just like her old one.

"If you're so worried, you can help me rescue Datastream from GUN by watching my back." His lip curled back as a low growl rumbled deep in his throat. "But leave Gadget to me. He's mine."

...

An electric forcefield shot between the entrance to the cell, cutting Gadget off from his new weapon. The skunk stood staring back at him, his shoulders rising and falling as he struggled under the weight of the control harness.

"Well, that was an interesting trial run," said the wolf. "There might be… one or two flaws. But it looks like that helmet does the job, don't you think?"

Tumble said nothing, the red slit in his helmet locked on Gadget as if awaiting his next command.

"You rest up," said Gadget. "You'll need it if I'm going to use you to track down Infinite. Who knows… I might even let you hurt him a little bit. Make you his superior in my new army." He turned to examine his claws and wiped them on his lab coat. "You'll be re-united with your brother soon enough, too. That might make for an interesting combination."

Tumble growled and shook his head left and right. The blue lights flickered madly as the harness tried to regain control of the skunk's mind. Tumble swung his head towards the wall, crashing the helmet hard against the tiles. It bounced back off it, sending shards raining onto the floor that shimmered in the fluorescent light.

Gadget spun back towards him and barked. "Oi! Cut that out before you break something!"

The skunk lunged towards him and the forcefield flashed, sending Tumble rolling away from it in a flurry of sparks. He came to a stop on his back, fighting to catch his breath. The blue LEDs calmed to a steady pulse as the helmet finally brought the skunk back under restraint.

"Well it's a good thing that harness is shock resistant," said Gadget. "I guess there's more kinks to iron out than I first thought. Now rest! I'm going to need you again shortly."

Tumble's head lolled to the side as he settled himself down to sleep. Gadget sighed and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle.

"On the bed!"

Tumble pushed himself up, the helmet's lights flickering momentarily as he clambered onto the flat and narrow bed, his huge form making it look much smaller once he was on it.

Gadget's lab coat billowed behind him as he turned from the cell and marched back to his office. Having Tumble under his control was proof the control harness worked. But it was only a prototype. His scientists were working overtime narrowing down the kinks. He fired off a quick email to their lab relaying the basics that needed fixing. Tumble was strong minded, but was he moreso than Infinite? He didn't want to lose control of the jackal the second he finally had him under his thumb.

Speaking of which, would Tumble even be able to stand up against him? The skunk was resilient, but not as much as Infinite. Infinite had withstood extensive torture, even so far as being showered with bullets from a machine gun. His regenerative properties allowed him to recover at an alarming rate, even while under fire. The only damage he'd never fully recovered from was being crushed. Although that could be down to the detainment collar repressing those abilities. But Gadget had no choice. He'd needed to put the jackal in his place. Show him who was boss.

Tumble did not possess regenerative abilities. Infinite would probably kill him in a heartbeat. Hopefully the skunk would provide enough of a distraction so Gadget could reel the jackal in.

He moved back from his desk to his weapon cabinet, just to check his gravity gun was still in place. With both that and his Project Wreckingball Prototype, he might actually succeed in retrieving Infinite this time. That was, provided he didn't slip away like he had back at Twinkle Park. No… that was too risky. He needed to not lose track of him this time.

Gadget tapped his lip as he scanned his office. Something, anything, that he could tag the jackal with? A tracking dart would be too obvious. If he stuck anything in his fur, he'd notice. And he didn't exactly wear clothes. So what?

Gadget sank into his chair and began polishing his gravity gun as he mulled it over. There had to be something, or someone, he could tag? He cocked an eyebrow as an idea began to form, but it was washed away as an email flashed across his screen. Bearing a little red flag.

A ship had been spotted on the lab's radar. The Raptor? It couldn't be… It had actually returned?

Gadget pushed himself from his seat as he bared his canines at the holo-screen. Infinite! It had to be!

...

Amy stood staring out of the hatch at the clouds billowing below, soft wisps rising from them as The Raptor's wings brushed over them. Where the clouds parted, she could see the GUN building. Dark and imposing, despite how tiny it looked from their vantage point. The sun leaked down onto the prison yards, the dainty flower beds and the high wire fences, giving her the illusion that the feeling of any threat was purely psychological.

She yelped as Infinite placed a hand on her shoulder, her entire body tensing. Then she looked up at him, but his attention was on the building drawing rapidly closer.

"I hope you're ready," he said.

He didn't give her any time to reply. She squeaked as he pulled her into him and spun, dropping backwards from the ship. Amy screwed her eyes shut as the wind whipped up around her ears, almost drowning out her screams.

"Did you grab a parachute?!" she bellowed.

"A what?"

She opened her eyes to look at him, but the wind stung them so much she had to screw them shut again. But it was enough to see the playful, taunting look in his eye.

"You have to be kidding me!" she screamed.

She buried her face into his neck, fastening her arms tight around his body. What was he thinking? They were going to be flattened! GUN would be scraping their remains off the floor, knowing they'd won.

Then it all stopped. The roaring air. The horrid plummeting sensation. She could hear her heart hammering in her ears over the deep hum of The Raptor's engines miles above them.

"Are you forgetting I can fly?" Infinite spoke softly, and his lips brushed her ear.

Her eyes snapped open as her breath froze, and she pushed back from him. There was almost a friendly warmth behind his eye, but it vanished as a playful smirk took over. He nodded to her left and she followed his gaze to the GUN building. Still a good few feet away. They hovered higher than it, but she could see the windows. The silhouettes behind them. The soldiers flooding out into the yard.

"Now which cell do you think Datastream are locked in?" he purred to her. "This one?"

Keeping one arm fastened around her waist, he snapped his fingers and a section of the wall exploded. Brick and mortar rained down onto the yard, scattering the soldiers that were unfortunate enough to be stood too close to it.

"I guess not." Infinite shook his head and sighed. "How about this one?"

Another snap. Another section of the wall blasted to smithereens. Sirens blared from the prison as more soldiers flowed out into the yard. Pinpricks of red light danced over Infinite and Amy's bodies, followed by a rain of bullets. Amy screamed and buried her face back into Infinite's chest, but not a single one touched them. When she looked up again, the bullets were being reflected back off the surface of a translucent red bubble. The entire thing surrounded them, and moved with them as Infinite lowered them to the ground.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight," he said.

His eyes were trained on the building. Gadget strolled across the yard, surrounded by a small army of SWAT soldiers. And behind him towered a cream-furred animal who's species she couldn't place. Namely due to the heavy helmet covering their entire head. The red slit over their eyes seemed to glow, and was fixed on both her and Infinite.

The jackal's spine bristled and he didn't look away from Gadget. "I hope you remembered your mallet."

Amy reached behind her back and pulled out the hammer he'd given her. An illusion, yet as solid as the invisible chain that bound her to him. She looked up as soldiers rushed towards them, and clenched the hammer in both her hands.

"I'm not killing anyone," she said.

"You might have to."

He dropped the shield and leapt forward to greet the soldiers. A grin split his face and the ground erupted beneath their feet, sending them into the air like ragdolls.

Amy's heart sank, but she swiftly shook it off, tearing her eyes from the flying, crippled soldiers to face the small mob rushing her, led by a fierce looking prairie dog. She brought her mallet up in an arc, striking his rifle clean out of his hands. It fired, bouncing off the hull of The Raptor. The stray bullet ricocheted off it to find its home in the forearm of the mouse soldier close behind. He dropped his weapon with a yelp and fell to the floor, clutching his wounded arm. The tenrec behind him couldn't slow down fast enough. He went tumbling over his team mate, dropping his rifle and sending a stray bullet that skimmed the ankle of the prairie dog.

At least they were disarmed. Amy grimaced and turned to assist Infinite, rushing to catch up with him across the newly created gorge.

...

Sirens blared throughout the prison, causing the shimmering forcefield to flash red as the lights pulsed throughout the corridors. Soldiers rushed past them, ignoring Tsunami and Rough as the pair tried to work out what was going on. First the explosions, and then the siren… was someone attacking the prison?

"Master? Master?"

Tsunami looked to her left, but her view of the speaker was blocked by Rough's mohawk.

"Is that your Chao-droid?" he asked.

Tsunami spotted the small robot, hovering before the control panel with a small computer in his hands. He gave her a beaming smile as the forcefield blinked out like a light.

"Omachao?" Tsunami resisted the urge to hug the android. "How did you- What are you-?"

"I can answer everything shortly," he said. "First I need to find everyone else. You, as captain, were priority."

"How did you even get in here?" Tsunami asked.

"That is simple," he said. "I entered through a hole blasted in the wall by Mister Niffy."

"Who?"

"The jackal you rescued," said Omachao flatly.

She exchanged glances with Rough, who shrugged.

Tsunami sighed and brushed a hand over her scales. "Well I'm afraid I'm not going to be of much use to you, Omachao, because I don't know where anyone is."

"That is fine. There are cells all along this corridor." Omachao looked over both her and Rough. "It appears the two of you are currently unarmed. If you retrace my footsteps a few feet around the bend, you will find two soldiers I rendered unconscious. I strongly advise you take their weapons."

Rough's jaw fell. "You took out two GUN goons? Good grief! What sorta machine are ya?"

"Omachao Version 3.0, Jack of All Trades model. But I prefer the Butler personality."

"So you're a combat butler?"

"I am merely a butler. Now please retrieve those weapons."

Tsunami didn't need telling twice. She found the two soldiers lying face down with tranquilizer darts embedded in the backs of their necks. She chose the small hand laser from a ridiculously fluffy cat, while Rough took a small dagger. At her raised eyebrow he shrugged and sheathed it in the belt he'd pilfered.

"We'd better rejoin Omachao," she said.

"Nah, Nami. I gotta find Tumble, all right?"

She froze to look back at him. "Alone?"

"I've gotta." He walked backwards away from her and spread his arms. "He's my bro, Nami, I ain't leavin' him here."

She stuttered as she warred with the desire to rescue her crew and not let the skunk walk right to his death.

She clenched her teeth and caught his eye. "We won't leave him, okay? I promise."

Omachao drifted around the corner and looked between the two. "It is fine. I can rescue everyone else. Go and assist Mister Rough in his rescue mission."

Tsunami sighed and turned to Omachao. "Are you sure you've got this?"

"I got you two out, did I not?"

"Okay," she said. "Just… don't forget the Chaotix."

"They were already on my list of rescues, Miss Nami."

A smile tugged at her lips and she turned to race after Rough. "You're a good butler, Omachao. I'll see you back at The Raptor."

"Roger!"

The small chao turned and zipped away from her. Rough was waiting at the bend, his hand hovering by his dagger.

"It's oddly quiet," he said.

"All the soldiers will be rushing outside to stop Infinite," said Tsunami.

"Great. That gives us a bigger chance of findin' my bro without anyone gettin' in my way."

He made to move away from her, but halted as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I hate to bring this up," she said. "But if Infinite really is here, there's a chance Gadget is using your brother to fight him."

Rough narrowed his eyes as his lips curled back from his canines. "Then I guess we're goin' outside!"

"Don't you think we should have a bit more back-up before we go rushing outside?"

"If we take too long, that maniac might kill him first!"

Tsunami sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. "You're right. Time is of the essence. Let's risk it."

Rough nodded then turned and rushed away from her. "Man, I'm gonna stink bomb that wolf until he begs for mercy!"

...

The soldiers just wouldn't stop coming. Barring Infinite from Gadget as the humongous monster with him forced its way through the mob, staggering as Infinite blasted the floor apart to scatter the soldiers. Once they were out of the way, he advanced, only to find bullets raining down on him from atop the prison. A swift earthquake solved that problem, shaking the entire prison and causing the whole right half of it to cave in. Screams of anguish and agony filled the air, washing over Infinite like water. He kept his livid gaze on the wolf as he threw himself through another growing wall of soldiers, striking them with crimson lightning as he spun threw them. Sure, he could easily swallow Gadget and his oversized goon up in a hole where they stood. But where would be the fun in that? He wanted to get as close as he could to the wolf. To show Gadget just as much pain and mercy he'd shown him.

Amy stuck close to his tail, and the thuds from her mallet told him any soldiers still left standing were swiftly put out of commission.

Infinite landed before Gadget. But the hulking helmeted monster stepped between them, fists raised and eye-piece leering down at the jackal.

"Infinite!" The joy in Gadget's voice pushed his fur on end. Gadget clasped his hands together and beamed. "How lovely you two actually get a chance to meet! Let me introduce you to your superior, J50021. Or, if that's too much of a mouthful, Project Wreckingball."

'Project Wreckingball'? Infinite's blood blazed as he stared up at the monster. That was his codename! Why did this thing have it? Was he that easily disposable?! If they could replace him so easily, then was everything he was put through for nothing?!

Gadget's fake, jovial smile turned into a sadistic leer and he folded his hands behind his back. "Get him."

Infinite's breath turned frantic and he let out an immense roar, shaking the air and blowing the creature backwards from him. It shook its head violently then, once the shockwave subsided, leapt towards him. Three metal claws shot from each of its gauntlets and it brought them down towards his head. Infinite took a step back and swung his fist up in an arc. A long, crimson scimitar manifested, cleaving the air only to be caught in the beast's gauntleted fists. It swung its arms to the side, lifting Infinite clean off the floor and launching him like a toy.

Amy screamed as she was dragged along after him like a ball and chain. He landed on all-fours, keeping his eyes trained on 'Project Wreckingball'. His lips quivered as a snarl rose in his throat and he dropped the chain, rounding on Amy.

"Get out of here!" he roared.

She clutched the mallet to her chest and scurried backwards on her bottom. Then, once she'd struggled to her feet, she turned and ran.

Infinite shook his head and turned back to the beast. He leapt from the floor, bringing his scimitar down towards its head. It swatted it aside with its gauntlets, giving him enough of an opening to land a swift kick in its chest. It barely even moved. Once he was close enough it nutted him with its helmeted head, sending Infinite back to the ground like a stunned fly. The impact knocked the wind from his lungs, and the Phantom Ruby's crimson energy flickered out. Infinite groaned, pushing himself back up as the creature advanced towards him. He leered up at it, forcing his eye to bring it back into focus. The crimson haze around his body flared back to life, glitching and sparking until it stabilized itself again.

'Project Wreckingball' swung its fists down towards him, and Infinite rolled out of the way. It grunted as it tugged its claws free of the rocky earth then brought them down to meet him again. Infinite leapt backwards, watching its hands as it struck the earth repeatedly, sending rock and soil flying left and right with each swing. Not enough space to leap in and attack it. He'd have to try and strike it from behind.

Infinite flew over its head, tucking his tail in as it swiped at him. But no sooner was he behind it, a horrible stink filled the air, stinging his eyes and choking his lungs. He catapulted himself away from it, but a huge fist slammed into his stomach and crashed him into the ground. The blurry, helmeted head leered down at him. Pain radiated across his side and he became painfully aware of one of the blades pinning him to the ground.

"Tumble!"

The creature jerked its head around, then swung it left and right as blue LEDs flashed on either side of the helmet like out of control fireworks. It jerked back from him and Infinite grimaced as it pulled its blade free in favour of striking its own helmet. He took a few deep breaths to clear his lungs, hissing as he forced himself back up. But the pain was only brief. The wound healed up like a zipper.

"Tumble! It's me!"

Infinite turned his head towards the voice. A blue and white skunk raced across the battlefield, trailed by soldiers and a green pangolin. Tsunami. Infinite recognized her. No. He was having no meddlers! This was his fight. He raised his hand up, and the ground shifted, raising up into several narrow, towering pillars. Close enough together to form an impenetrable wall. But that alone physically drained him. He'd used too much of his energy reserves already. If he was going to get out of this in one piece, he'd have to think small. No more elaborate, showy attacks. He turned back to the monster and leapt to his feet, forming another scimitar.

'Project Wreckingball' settled its frantic head-swinging to focus back on Infinite, and bashed its fists together creating sparks from its gauntlets. All brute strength. Something Infinite had always lacked. That kick had done nothing. If he was going to do any damage to this thing, he had to time his attacks just right and rely on boosting himself with the Phantom Ruby alone.

He'd already learned the thing's pattern. All it wanted to do was use its fists. As if to prove his theory right, it swung at him. Blades leaping from its gauntlets like deadly claws.

Infinite kept his eyes on the creature's torso and leapt forward, willing himself there. A weird computer code surrounded his body and he vanished briefly, flying through the tunnel it created. He reappeared right before the skunk as he rammed his fist into its gut. A shock-wave of Phantom Ruby energy blew the creature back from him to crash into the wall of pillars. Cracks exploded over the surface of it, and the beast slid down it to the floor.

Well that was new. Infinite chuckled as he levitated in the air, and nudged his mask back up his muzzle. Was that the Chaos Network? He'd have to remember that.

But 'Project Wreckingball' wasn't down. The blue lights flickered on its helmet and it leapt back to its feet. It rushed him, slicing at him with its gauntlets. Infinite performed the same trick again, his fist striking its jaw. It flew up into the air and he appeared above it, sending a crescent kick into its shoulders. The beast struck the floor in a cloud of dust.

Infinite landed behind it, bracing himself as it pushed itself back up. How much punishment could this thing take? He frowned as the beast turned to face him again, brandishing its gauntlets. Favouring them over anything else in its arsenal. A fatal mistake. It brought them down towards his head with a roar. He dropped into a crouch to duck them then brought his scimitar up in an arc, focusing on its right hand. The crimson blade cleaved through the gauntlet in a spray of blood. The beast flew back from him with a blood-curdling howl, clutching what was left of its arm against its chest.

Infinite flicked blood from his muzzle then rushed towards the creature, raising his scimitar to spear it. To finish it off. To show it who the weakest one of them truly was.

"Infinite!"

It wasn't a cry to get his attention. It was a cry filled with panic. He froze with his sword mere millimeters from the creature's gut and turned his head towards the voice. Gadget stood leering at him with Amy clasped in his left arm. The right had a gun pressed to her head.

Gadget's muzzle creased in a sneer. "I'm not going to let you damage my new toy any more than you already have done, you vile jackal. Now it would be in your best interest to back down and come with me, before I fill your little girlfriend full of lead."

Amy screwed her eyes shut as tears leaked down over her cheeks. All Infinite could do was stare. No… why was this bothering him? She was just a hedgehog! She meant nothing!

How had this happened anyway? Where was her hammer? Infinite's eyes closed briefly and he let out a sigh. Of course. When he'd lost his focus it would have faded. He looked back up at Gadget and dropped his sword, keeping his eye on the wolf's. No. On the gun.

It melted away in Gadget's hand, falling away into tiny maggots. Each one eating away at Infinite's strength. Transformation into something else was the single-most draining tactic in his arsenal. Gadget yelled, releasing Amy to beat the maggots from his lab coat. She bolted from him as Infinite lunged across the battlefield towards him. Fist raised as he charged up another shock-wave.

Gadget whipped his hand through his coat and Infinite froze, trapped in mid-air. His eyes widened as he found himself staring at the rounded nose of Gadget's gravity weapon. The wolf's mouth turned up in a smirk.

"Got you," he crooned. "Not so powerful now, are you?"

Infinite growled as he tried to move his arms. Then he focused on the gun again, willing it to transform into anything else. Maggots, glue, tar… His heart froze as he realised he truly was helpless. Weak. At the wolf's mercy once again. His blood turned cold and he fought for breath as his mind turned foggy.

"Oh wow, really?" Gadget threw his head back and laughed. "It works better than I thought! But I have you know, jackal, this can do a lot more than just suspend you in mid-air." The wolf paced back and forth, keeping his eyes on Infinite. "It doesn't just remove or replace gravity. No, it manipulates it! Much like your reality manipulation it has very deadly consequences!"

Gadget's eyes widened briefly as a ball of cream and white struck him head on, rolling him away along the ground. Claws slashing and cleaving as screeches filled the air. Infinite struck the ground with a grunt, sending pain through his muzzle. He found himself dragged to his feet by Amy and she dragged him away, back towards The Raptor.

"No." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him, leering at the ship as Team Datastream mounted its neon ladder. "We're not going back with them."

Before Amy could protest, they vanished in a cloud of pink mist.

...

"Tumble!" Rough bellowed, fighting against Crash's fists.

"We can't do anything!" the pangolin told him. "If we go over there, we're mincemeat!"

Tsunami stood aside as she let Vector join in restraining the skunk. Tumble had been brought back under control, although from what she could see, Gadget wasn't in a good way. His lab coat was in tatters and blood pooled on the floor. Although most of that was probably from Tumble's missing hand.

"Please! I can't leave him!" Rough roared, flailing in Vector's grip.

Tsunami mounted the ladder after him and watched the ground vanish beneath them. Only once the hatch had closed did Vector finally release the sobbing skunk. Rough slumped against the wall, clasping a hand over his face.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Vector. "But there's nothin' we can do. We go back there, we risk gettin' turned into that. And I ain't willin' to-"

Espio placed a hand on Vector's arm. "I think you need to learn when to stop talking."

Vector shrugged and marched onto the bridge, leaving Rough stood with Crash and Tsunami. She looked down at the skunk and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get him back," she said softly. "Now we know where he is, and what's happened-"

"Why did we leave him?" Rough looked up at her. "You said we could save him!"

"I said there's hope to free him," she reminded him.

"No, you promised!"

Tsunami blinked as her words came back to her. Then she closed her eyes and sighed. "I wanted to rescue him as much as you did, but Crash is right. We would have been slaughtered back there! And if he came to his senses after, how do you think he'd feel knowing he was the one who killed you?!" She paused as Rough's eyes filled with fresh tears. She let out a sigh and added softly, "So we can't do anything reckless, okay?"

Rough's eyes widened and he looked away from her as he wiped his nose on his hand. "I guess you're right…"

She nodded and turned to join the others on the bridge. Omachao busied himself by tending to everyone's extensive wounds. It had been a struggle to escape the prison, even with most of the soldiers either brutally wounded, rounding up the fleeing criminals, or trying to fend off Infinite. But they'd managed to get through much easier than their last attempt. Most of that was down to Omachao himself, and Decode and Charmy when he'd located them. The bee had wasted no time in getting them both back to the ship to help the rest of their team on board.

Decode sat at his navigation desk as if nothing had happened, his only wound a small scrape on his shoulder where a bullet had narrowly missed both him and Charmy. The bush baby tapped away at the computer as he keyed in their co-ordinates. Back to Pulse City for a much needed re-fuel and rest. After what had happened, no-one wanted to continue hunting down Infinite just yet. And it was fairly obvious GUN had very little chance of reeling the jackal in.

She let her eyes linger on Decode for a moment, then moved over to him and looped her hands over his shoulders, pulling him into a backwards hug.

"Erm…" His pink eyes widened and he tried to look back at her without much success. "Hi?"

"It's good to have you back." Her voice was muffled by his fur.

He reached up to give her hand a squeeze before returning to his work.

She released him and gave a quick, awkward glance around the cockpit at the various baffled faces. "All of you. And I don't know about you, but I personally want to put all this behind me and forget it ever happened."

"I'm not sure that's possible," said Espio. "Infinite's still out there, and he's still a threat."

"And I'm not so sure Rough can just forget all this either, Nami," said Crash.

Tsunami caught her brother's eye and her heart sank. Of course. Unlike her, Rough wasn't so fortunate. She grimaced and leant back against Decode's chair.

"I don't know," she groaned. "I just… I want to get away from all this. We've been in pretty dangerous scrapes before, but this takes the biscuit."

"You're tellin' me." Vector winced as Omachao dabbed at his shoulder. "We've fought GUN before, but this was ridiculous."

"A pretty clear indication we're onto something big," said Espio. "I'm not sure how easily I can just drop this, personally."

"Then you guys take the case," said Tsunami. "Because I want out of it."

Decode's pink eye fixed on her over his shoulder. "No matter how much we want out of it, it doesn't take the prices off our heads. We'll be living like fugitives now whatever the case."

"That's a bit extreme," said Crash. "Space pirates aren't very well going to turn us in, are they?"

Decode shrugged and returned to his computer.

"Over-exaggeration aside, Decode's right," said Tsunami. "We'll have to lay low for a while. So let's just be glad none of us got killed and return to some level of 'normal'?"

Vector raised a finger and cleared his throat. "By 'normal' do you mean…?"

"Pirates and mercenaries," she said. "Back to normal. Once you're off my ship, you're free game once again."

Espio rolled his eyes while Vector let out a grunt.

"I highly doubt you'll be the ones hunting us," said Espio. "You'll be walking to your deaths."

"But we won't be working together," said Tsunami. "We'll be back to being foes."

Espio shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me."

"It'll be like it never happened," said Vector. "Capiche?"

Tsunami nodded and moved back out of the bridge, pausing by the door. "I'm going to go and try and have a nap. I didn't sleep a wink in that cell." She looked back at her brother, catching his eyes. "You're in charge."

Rough still stood in the corridor, snuffling as he stared at the closed hatch. Tsunami felt something twang in her chest and she gave another quick glance back at the bridge. She'd almost lost everything she cared about. She knew what it felt like. That hopelessness. Loneliness.

Tsunami screwed her eyes shut and gave the skunk's shoulder a squeeze as she moved past him. "We'll get him back, okay?"

He looked up with a start, eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Speechless.

"I don't know how, or when," she went on. "But if you want our help, you've got it."

She left him there as she made her way to her room, shutting herself in silence.

...

**Review Replies:**

**The Ever-Dreaming Kitten - Amy has a weird way of dealing with Infinite XD 'Niffy' has become a bit of a nickname for him in this story, and among some of the people reading this now, too, from what I've seen! Thanks for reading! =D**

**Thanks everyone! As always, please R&R! =D**


	16. PW Chapter 16

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D This one is a little early as I'm too busy to update tomorrow!**

Chapter Sixteen

Gadget tossed his tattered lab coat into the trash then smoothed out his new one. A little on the large side, but it would do. His gravity gun had found pride of place in its ample inside pocket, and it tapped against his ribs as he marched back to his office.

A few scratches peppered his body, catching on the coat's rough cotton. The only major one he'd received was to his right thigh, but any bother it caused was little to none after a shot of pain medication.

'Bed rest' they'd told him. He ignored it.

Tumble was safely locked back up in his cell waiting to be kitted out with a new hand, given the old one was in no state to be reattached. So Gadget had decided to get the skunk a new tail to go with it. Something that could be used if his gauntlets were ever fully taken out of action.

As Gadget opened his office door he did a double-take. Sonic and Tails were sat at his desk and it took a moment for Gadget to remember he'd asked for them.

Sonic gave him a nervous grin. "Sorry we weren't around to help?"

"Forget it." Gadget fell into his chair and winced. He shifted slightly to take the weight off his leg. "That's not why I called you here."

"Then what for?" asked Tails. "We were doing exactly what you asked us to."

"I know. But now I have a more efficient means for you to do it." Gadget fixed the fox with a leer and nudged a palm computer over to him.

Tails retrieved it and made a thoughtful noise.

"What is it?" Sonic leant over his friend's shoulder.

"It looks like a tracking device." Tails lowered it to look up at Gadget. "The last tracking device was not successful."

"No," said Gadget. "But this one should be, provided they don't find it first."

"What makes you think they won't?" Sonic asked.

"Simple." Gadget leant back in his seat and steepled his fingers together. "They won't be expecting it."

"Okay. So this is where they are?" Sonic jabbed a finger at the map. "In some hotel on the Central City outskirts?"

"Oh, is that where it says they are?" Gadget waved a hand at it. "I'm not interested in that."

Sonic cocked an eyebrow, prompting him to elaborate. Gadget returned it with a smile and gave a small chuckle.

"I have a plan, Sonic," he said. "And you two are going to help me with it."

...

Amy tossed the plastic carrier bag onto the dressing table. She hadn't wanted to stop by the shops after all that chaos, but Infinite had insisted. The jackal was hungry. And given everything she'd previously bought was still on Datastream's ship, she wasn't left with much choice.

"There," she said. "Are you happy now?"

"Ecstatic." Infinite tucked the bag he'd been made to carry beneath the bed. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to have a shower. People were giving me some funny looks."

"Maybe it's because of the blood splattering your fur," she muttered.

"Oh really? I'd never thought of that." The sarcasm in his voice was not appreciated.

He moved past her into the bathroom and closed the door. Then promptly started humming to himself. The chain tugged at her wrist briefly then slackened, meaning he'd allowed her to move away from the bathroom. When the shower started hissing away, she settled herself on the sofa, trying to block out that night's horrific events. It had all been a little too much. She was still trembling. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was carnage. People being blasted into the sky. That skunk with its strange helmet. The wolf's grin when he'd grabbed her. The look on Infinite's face when he heard her scream. Anger and fear, warring with each other. She'd only shouted for him out of impulse. She hadn't expected him to actually save her, but no one else was there.

He'd actually tried to save her. He'd even dropped his weapon when Gadget threatened her life. Why?

She could still feel the cold nozzle of the gun pressed against her head. Gadget's breath in her quills. She shuddered and rubbed at her right ear, trying to make it go away. She needed to do something to take her mind off it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Then groaned when it didn't respond. Of course. Her battery had run dry.

She hugged her arms around herself as she desperately tried to stifle those memories, made all the more unsettling by Infinite's oddly tuneful humming. But they refused to comply. The moment she'd lost her mallet, the tables turned. It simply vanished as she swung it to disarm a soldier. If he hadn't been as equally surprised as she was, she wouldn't have moved out of the way of his rifle in time.

The water stopped to be replaced by the hum of the fur driers. One of the fans clattered away, giving her something to focus on. Either Infinite was quick, or she'd been quaking for longer than she'd thought. They weren't roaring away for long though. They cut off, along with his unfamiliar song. Then the door opened and the damp jackal stepped out with a somewhat sheepish look on his face, once again hidden behind his mask. He held up a hand trailing several red ribbons dripping water onto the floor.

Amy sighed and pushed herself from the sofa. "You weren't meant to shower with them in!"

"How was I to know?" he scoffed. "You didn't exactly give me any instructions."

She shook her head and motioned to the chair by the dresser. "Tie them over one of the fur driers to air out then sit down. I'll deal with it."

He complied, bringing back that hum and clatter of the drying fans. Then he slumped into the seat and fumbled with the carrier bag while Amy struggled to remove the belts and tubes from his wet mane.

"You'd be better off drying yourself more thoroughly," she said.

"Fat chance. I'll end up looking like a plush toy."

Well that was an image. He'd be a somewhat deranged and violent plush toy…

The brush snagged as she tried to drag it through his mane, which wasn't made any easier by him moving about. A jar of peanut butter appeared on the desk, followed by a box of cookies. He promptly tore open the box and pulled out a… bone shaped biscuit? Amy raised an eyebrow as she took in the box's artwork for the first time. In her fear-induced oblivion she'd failed to notice the black and white shaggy dog on the box, complete with 'Gravy Bones' hovering over its head in bright red letters. Beneath that, as if it wasn't obvious enough from the artwork alone, were the words 'For the Working Dog'.

He stuffed the bone into the peanut butter then paused mid-bite when he realised her staring. "What?"

Her muzzle creased with revulsion. "What are you…" Then she shook her head and returned to brushing his mane. "Whatever."

He shrugged and returned to his biscuit, which vanished in two bites. Then he reached for a second one.

The brush snagged over a large knot and she set it aside to tease it free with her fingers. But he didn't appear to remotely care.

"I don't think I've thanked you yet," she said.

"What for?"

"For saving my life."

He shrugged again and munched away on another biscuit.

Amy's hand hesitated as she smoothed out his mane. "Why did you?"

He snorted then popped another biscuit in his mouth. "I'm as confused by that as you are."

"I'm not confused, I'm grateful. He could have killed me." Her breath shuddered and she leant herself on the back of his chair on her hands. She could barely believe what she was about to say. "You can take the chain off. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't trust you."

"Well you can because I don't have anywhere else to go! As much as it shocks me to say it, I'm actually safer with you!" Tears pricked her eyes and she screwed them shut. "Wherever I go now, GUN will find me. If I'm on my own then I can't exactly defend myself against them, can I? You… you could just wipe them out if you wanted to! But me? All I've got is a hammer and the hope I can run fast enough!"

She sobbed a couple of times as she tried to steady herself, wiping her eyes on the back of her glove. Then she pushed herself from his chair, catching his look of surprise in the mirror. Had she really admitted that? That she felt safer with someone who would no sooner kill another person than look at them? She shook her head then quickly retrieved his ribbons from the fur driers, silencing them in the process. Now completely dry. She set them down on the table with the rest of his accessories and started sectioning out his mane. She sniffled and paused to wipe her eyes dry. Her breath still trembled slightly.

He shifted, catching her eye, and held the box of biscuits up to her.

"No thanks," she said.

He placed it back down and idly stirred one in his peanut butter.

A long silence passed between them while she wound the red ribbons through his soft mane. She'd had to abandon her gloves to make the task easier, and everything about it seemed to take her mind off those events for a little while. His soft fur contrasting with the silk ribbons, thinking about where each ribbon should go to stop it falling away… it was a strange kind of therapy in itself.

"I can't drop the chain." Infinite's voice snapped her out of her daze and she met his eye in the mirror. "It's the only way I can know where you are."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I told you I'm not going anywhere. I'm too scared to go anywhere."

"That doesn't matter. Losing the chain would make it too easy to get separated." He paused to lick peanut butter off his fingers. "But if you want, we can find a way to revive your phone."

Her eyes widened but he dodged her gaze, instead securing the jar's lid back in place.

"You're going to let me have my phone?" she asked slowly. "To actually be able to contact my friends?"

"I highly doubt after what you've seen today you'll be willing to turn me in," he said.

"No." She took a deep breath and retrieved one of his green belts to fasten into his dreads. "So is that what they want to do to you? Turn you into… whatever they did to that skunk?"

He froze for a second then traced his claws over the grain in the woodwork. "I don't know the finer details of Gadget's plan. Just that he wanted living weapons. So I guess 'yes' is the answer to that question."

"That poor guy," she whispered.

Infinite snorted and diverted his gaze to the window.

Amy secured the final tube in place then stood back to admire her work. "I think we're done."

He gave his reflection a quick glance then stared down at the table top again.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep," she said. "Do you mind if I have the bed?"

He waved a hand. "Go ahead."

She muttered a thank you and made her way towards it. But Infinite froze and jerked his head up towards the window. Then she heard it. Helicopters. Two of them, circling overhead. A beam of light struck the window, filtering in through the worn curtain.

Infinite snarled and leapt for her, pulling her into him. Her spine stiffened and he clasped his hand over her mouth, stifling her surprised yell.

"They've found us," he hissed.

Before she could reply, they were consumed in a pink mist.

...

The Raptor secured itself at Pulse City's docks. The sun was just rising, its weak rays warring with the glow of the city's neon lights. Tsunami scanned the streets from the bridge, eyeing the space pirates as they passed by. A few curious looks were fired in their direction, but nothing that set her alarm bells ringing. Nevertheless, all of them would have to tread with some caution. Space pirates might be less inclined to turn them into GUN given it would put their own lives at risk, but that wasn't to say no one would at least try. And as for mercenaries… well… if they wanted the job, they'd take it.

She checked her pilfered laser was in place and turned from the bridge. One of her first stops would be to buy a new laser and upgrade her visor with a thermal scanner. Speaking of which… her eye fell on Espio standing by the hatch, toying with the hem of his scarf. He released it when he spotted her in favor of folding his arms, and shifted so he was barring the door.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he said. "But I do feel we've got some things to discuss before we part ways."

Tsunami narrowed her eyes at him and her fingers twitched by her laser. His attention snapped to it and he dropped his arms to his sides, tensing slightly.

"And what, may I ask, would that be?" she growled.

Crash appeared behind her, followed closely by Vector. Tsunami couldn't help but feel the reptiles had planned this, blocking their escape from the ship. She quickly glanced down the corridor, but there was no sign of Rough. He was likely still holed up in the room she'd leant him, oblivious there was anything going on.

"We can't exactly just forget about all this," said Espio. "I know I can't. If we drop this, that wolf wins. We've seen what he's doing, and so long as his plan stays in action, we're prime targets for his soldiers and any hands he decides to hire to track us down."

Tsunami clenched her teeth together, meeting the chameleon's eye. He met her glare evenly, not even so much as twitching.

"Admit it," said Vector. "You know he's right."

"So what do you want us to do?" Tsunami asked.

"Back us," said Espio. "We've got a lot of information about GUN's plans. And we're also first hand witnesses to what they're doing. I'm sure Rough would back our case. It's his brother they've turned into a weapon, after all. If you can also provide a witness, we can leak what GUN are up to. The authorities will come crashing down on them like-"

"They are the authorities!" Tsunami snapped.

"Not exactly." Espio's voice was irritatingly calm. "GUN have been split. Eggman leads GUN, and you know that. Gadget's group want to overthrow him. Do you really think he's going to let that little piece of information slide under his radar?"

Tsunami sighed and pinched her nose. Behind her, Crash shifted and cleared his throat.

"Gadget seems pretty powerful," he said. "He's got a lot of followers. If this information gets out, he knows full well who's done it. He'll have his soldiers after us en-mass."

"Aye," said Vector. "En-mass. I'm not sure I fully agree with what you're sayin' here, Espio. And you're usually the one with the good ideas."

A door closed further down the corridor and Rough paused, looking over each of them. At some point, Decode and Charmy had decided to join them, hanging quietly at the back.

"What's goin' on?" Rough asked. "Some kinda farewell party?"

He chuckled to himself as he swaggered over to them, and Tsunami let out a groan.

"I wouldn't call it a party," said Decode. "It's more of a debate."

"We're deciding whether or not to leak GUN's plans," Vector explained. "And how best to go about it."

Rough bared a canine and slumped against the wall beside Tsunami. "Well I'm game to reveal that scumbag to the world."

"Huh." Espio scratched the base of his horn and glanced around at the others. "Not a bad idea, actually."

Tsunami blinked as she tried to read the chameleon. "I'm sorry? I don't think I've followed. Weren't we already arguing about whether or not to reveal this?"

"Yes," said Decode. "But I think what Espio is getting at is we don't leak out that this is GUN doing all this. At the end of the day, that could be damaging as a whole. It's isn't GUN doing this. It's a small group masquerading as GUN to work under their radar. So… why not just uncover the main guy behind it? Don't say it's GUN, but some nut-job scientist wolf named Gadget. The authorities will come crashing down on him alone."

Tsunami folded her arms and turned to face the bush baby. "And his supporters?"

"Best case scenario - disbanded." Decode popped his computer back into his belt pouch. "Worst case scenario - they come after us like a pack of hungry wolves."

Crash hissed through his teeth. "I don't like those odds."

"It's the best option we've got." Decode shrugged. "I'm with the Chaotix here. We need to say something, otherwise other people are going to get turned into weapons. And it could end up being us."

Charmy let out a long whine and pulled his helmet down over his eyes. "That sounds terrifying."

"We've already dodged that scrape," said Crash. "I didn't like their interest in me, personally."

"Ditto," said Vector.

Tsunami grit her teeth and looked away from them, which wasn't easy being surrounded. Even her own team were arguing against her. But everyone had a point. It was up to them to avoid a major catastrophe. One that could potentially end up in a war made up of brainwashed powerhouses controlled by some mad man with a warped ideology. As much as she didn't support Eggman, he was actually their friend in this scenario. He wouldn't like the idea of someone trying to overthrow him, and it was highly likely any of Gadget's core supporters would end up arrested also. Although that might mean some innocents who weren't all for his ideals might also end up in custody… but was that a price worth paying?

"Fine," she said. "I guess it is the best idea. But I don't like it."

Vector gave a hearty laugh and struck Crash on the back, almost knocking the pangolin over.

"Fantastic!" Vector marched past them towards the hatch, scooting Espio aside. "Now I don't know about you, but I need a drink after all that."

"So we've won?" Charmy asked as he buzzed after the crocodile.

"Not yet, but I think we might be on the winning side." Vector grinned at the bee then hopped out onto the docks.

Tsunami muttered under her breath as she closed up the rear, making sure the ship was securely locked behind her. A breeze kicked up and she made to secure her scarf around her neck. But of course, it wasn't there. Shortly after arriving back on The Raptor, it had been placed in the wash when Omachao gave Rough a clean bandage.

"Erm… just give me a moment," she said.

Crash paused, arms tucked behind his head, and watched as she clambered back onto the ship. The door hissed shut behind her and she turned into the hallway, and let out a yell as she almost walked smack into a yellow and black jumpsuit. Whoever it was let out their own yell of surprise and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

She locked eyes with a rather startled platypus who lifted a finger to his beak to shush her. Tsunami's lip curled in a sneer and she beat his ungloved hand away.

"I will not shush!" she hissed, tugging her laser free to point it at his chest. "Who are you and what are you doing on my ship?!"

"Oh, I can explain, ma'am, believe me!"

He lifted his hands and gave a nervous laugh, and for a moment she thought he was going to brush her weapon aside. She noticed for the first time GUN's logo on the left breast of his jumpsuit. But that was no GUN uniform.

She met his eyes again and growled, "A stowaway?"

"Yes, but I have my reasons-" He stuttered to a stop as she lifted her laser to his beak.

"Any criminal would believe they had their reasons," she said. "So let me guess. You broke out when the prison fell under attack and took the opportunity to clamber aboard my ship? Well, your luck just ran out, criminal. This is Team Datastream's ship."

"Oh yes, I've heard a lot about you," he said. "Word still managed to get around the cells, ma'am. And I believe you and your team-mates found themselves locked up for stealing highly sensitive data, hmm?"

He raised an eyebrow and a smirk tugged at his beak. Tsunami felt her heart sink. He had her there. She sighed and lowered her laser slightly, still keeping it aimed at the brazen platypus.

"So you thought you'd take a chance?" she said. "I have to admire that, but I don't want you on my ship. If circumstances were different, I'd march you right back to GUN myself. But I guess I'm just going to have to leave that up to some other mercenary team."

"I think I can handle myself," he said.

"In Pulse City?" She returned his smirk as it melted right off his beak. "Oh, I'd love to see that."

"P-Pulse City?" He laughed and brushed back his white hair. "Well, I came out of hiding at a fantastic time, didn't I?"

"Oh yes."

An idea was beginning to form in Tsunami's mind, not entirely dissimilar to the ones she'd been having as of late. The kind that had landed her on a 'date' with Rough, or working with the Chaotix. It was making her begin to doubt her own sanity. She stifled a sigh and let her gun fall to her side.

"But I might be inclined to make you an offer," she said.

"Oh?" His face lit up at that and he clasped his hands together. "And what might that be?"

"You said information moved around the cells," she said. "Any chance you heard what Gadget was up to?"

Something reflected in his face briefly that might have been disgust, but it didn't hang around long enough for her to tell.

"Doctor Gadget?" He scratched his head and looked away in thought. "I might have heard something."

"It'll need to be a pretty big 'something'," she warned.

He flashed her a grin and straightened out his jump suit at the neck as though he was straightening a tie.

"Oh, I think you will find what I have to say of great value, ma'am," he said. "You see, I was the scientist in charge of that particular branch of GUN before Gadget took over."

Tsunami almost dropped her laser. "You-you are the one who started Project Wreckingball?"

He made an obscene noise and waved her off. "It wasn't called that when I was in control of it. No, it was called the Infinite Project."

Her eyes flitted left and right as she mentally recapped all the information she'd read days ago. It hadn't mentioned that at all. How much of it had been amended?

"It said the previous scientist had stepped down from 'Project Wreckingball'," she said.

"What, the information you obtained?" He laughed again and shook his head. "Oh, I didn't so much 'step down' as was 'forced into retirement'. Although I'd hardly call being locked in a cell a good retirement plan." He met her gaze and smiled, then held out a white hand. "Call me Doctor Starline. I think we will be of great use to each other."

She stared at his hand, hesitating before finally taking it and giving it a firm shake. A mask to cover the war breaking out in her mind. But they needed facts if they were really going to expose Gadget, and if he truly was the man behind Project Wreckingball, or whatever it had been called before Gadget took over, then he probably had them.

"Okay," she said. "Then you can call me Nami. And I'd like to invite you for a drink with the rest of my team so we can discuss this."

"It will be my pleasure!"

He ducked in a flamboyant bow, causing Tsunami to raise an eyebrow. Was this platypus quite sane? If not, then it would raise many questions about GUN's suitability to run Mainframe.

She shook it off and lead him from the ship onto the docks. Crash and Decode were still waiting, but there was no sign of any of the space pirates. Crash pushed himself back from a bollard and balled his right hand into a fist.

"It's okay." Tsunami lifted her hands to placate him. "He actually has information we might be able to use."

Decode's nose crinkled. "Is that a GUN prison uniform?"

Crash looked over her shoulder at Starline and scoffed. "It looks like it. Where did he come from?"

"Your storage bay," Starline answered.

Crash seethed but backed down and fell into pace beside his sister. "Care to explain?"

"Later," she said. "Where are the Chaotix and Rough?"

"They went to some quiet bar by the barrier," he answered. "I wasn't sure you'd want to join them?"

"Well now might be a good time," she said.

As they moved through the streets, the curious eyes of space pirates and mercenaries fixed on them, watching as they made their way to the little bar by the floating city's barrier. Every face of Datastream and the Chaotix had probably graced the wanted posters, made all the more real as a look of envy crossed the face of a coyote as he enjoyed his early morning coffee. Starline's prison uniform wouldn't exactly go unrecognized either.

The bar was a welcome breath of fresh air from Pulse City's main street. Quiet, save for two occupied tables. The Chaotix sat with Rough beside the far wall, while the other occupant dozed in the corner by the door. His black and blue feathers sticking up like the spikes on a sea urchin.

The first to notice them was Rough, and despite looking exhausted and ragged, he gave her a warm smile.

Vector looked up from his beer and gave Tsunami a jovial wave. "Decided to join us, eh?" Then he noticed Starline and lowered his glass. "Who's the platypus?"

Tsunami cast a glance towards the feline bartender, who was more occupied with cleaning glasses. A set of heavy headphones covered his ears, and she could just detect the tinny pulse of a deep bass beat. She flopped down at the table while Crash grabbed himself and Decode their own seats.

"This is Starline," she said.

"Doctor Starline," the platypus corrected.

He grabbed himself a seat from the table beside them and squeezed himself between Tsunami and Rough, much to the skunk's grumblings.

"He claims to have information about Gadget and Project Wreckingball," Tsunami explained.

"He looks like he just broke out of prison," said Espio somewhat warily.

"Yes, just like you," said Starline. "Mind if I order a drink?"

Crash sighed and pushed himself from his seat. "I'll get it. What's your poison?"

Starline grimaced and shook his head. "I'm afraid I'm not partial to poison."

Crash stared back at him, his expression stoic. Then Starline laughed and waved him off.

"A cold cider will be fine," he said.

Crash turned and marched towards the bar, his heavy tail scraping across the woodwork. If it was meant to unsettle Starline, it succeeded as the platypus sank into himself and gave Tsunami a sheepish look.

"Not much of a sense of humor?" he asked.

"Oh he has one," said Tsunami. "You just need to make it into his good books first."

"And given the circumstances how might one accomplish that?" Starline asked.

"Don't stow away on our ship," said Decode.

Once everyone had their drinks, and Crash was settled back at their small table, Tsunami prompted Starline to cough up his information.

"You see," he began, "my interests in Infinite were a far cry from Gadget's. I took on the project about twenty or so years ago, when GUN finally stopped trying to drag information about Eggman from him."

Decode huffed and lowered his glass. "I don't know why they were still doing that until recently, given it didn't take Eggman long to win GUN over."

"He hadn't," said Starline. "Not entirely, anyway. A lot of people were still very much skeptical. Many still are." The platypus paused to sip his drink. "But anyway, like I said. My goals were different from Gadget's. I'd noticed Infinite had promise to be the ultimate tool to get rid of Eggman, so I used that to my advantage. I think it's pretty clear to you by now that GUN are split? But I don't know if you're aware that the damage is much bigger than you'd anticipated?"

"What do you mean?" Espio asked.

"I mean, when you drop a glass, it doesn't just break in half," said Starline. "You get lots of little pieces, some of which vanish under units to be lost until you one day uncover them. GUN is split into at least three factions. Even we aren't aware of how far that damage goes." He spread his hands and smiled. "So like I said, I used that to my advantage. I think you'd agree when I say I personally think Eggman is unfit to rule Mainframe. He isn't even from this world. So I wanted to use Infinite to get to him. To remove him from power and take his seat myself."

Tsunami almost choked on her drink. She placed the glass back on the table and took the napkin Crash offered her.

Rough leered up at the platypus. "You ain't serious?"

"Yeah, how does that differ from what Gadget wants?" Vector scoffed.

"Oh, it differs quite drastically," said Starline. "I just want to remove Eggman from his position of power. Gadget wants to start a war, and he'll go to any extremes to do it."

"Like brain-washin' my brother?" Rough snorted.

"It's mind control," said Vector.

Rough rounded on him and pointed a claw. "It's the same thing!"

"It's totally different!" Vector protested.

"Gentlemen!" Starline drew their attention back to him then relaxed back in his seat. "I think we can drop the technicalities for now? You have bigger problems to deal with, and I might be able to help you with that. We can stop Gadget, and rescue your rather large sibling."

Rough bared a canine but silenced himself with a swig of his beer.

"So he is creating a mind-controlled army to start a war?" Crash asked. "The Eggman thing was just a cover-up?"

"Recycling my original ideas," said Starline. "That's all that second-rate scientist does. I won't be surprised if he's modified my old gravity manipulator, either."

"Well we can't let that happen," said Espio. "I don't think any army could stand against a barrier of over-powered monsters."

"My brother ain't a monster," Rough growled.

"Do you want me to continue my story or not?" asked Starline.

The table fell silent, ushering the scientist on.

"Very well," he said. "In order to use Infinite, I began work on a special harness that would bend his will to mine. I can see you aren't impressed by that? But I assure you it was quite necessary. Infinite is volatile, and wouldn't listen to reason. He made it very clear he wanted to get rid of Eggman himself, and even when I offered to work with him he wouldn't have any of it. He told me he wanted to do it solo, and he wasn't going to stop at Eggman." Starline chuckled and waved a hand. "I mean, if he destroyed the world, there'd be nothing left to rule, now, would there? All life would be gone in the blink of an eye. So to stop him from doing that, I'd have to control him. So a harness, or helmet, or whatever you wish to call it, was to become my legacy. Until that little wolf stole my designs and forced me into 'early retirement'."

"Hang on." Rough lifted his hands. "You designed that helmet? Does that mean you know how to deactivate it?"

Starline frowned at the skunk. "Yes. Now do you mind if I continue?"

Rough muttered under his breath and sipped silently at his drink.

"Thank you." Starline turned back to the table. "So yes, it would allow me to use Infinite's powers without being on the receiving end of them myself. It would also mean locking him up again afterward, but that was all I wanted. His power. Eggman wouldn't be expecting it. I don't know if he's even aware Infinite is alive. He's the reason Infinite even has these powers, that much we know. Eggman is a genius. Even back in his own world, he had the ability to alter DNA, create robots out of living tissue… striking, really. His genius is to be admired. If I hadn't listed him as a foe, I'd be probing him for questions and showing him my own ideas. But, genius as he is, he's not omniscient. He only knows what he can feasibly find out, and we're working outside his radar. He has no idea what these little sections of GUN are even doing, especially not ours. We have means in place to stop prying eyes. Even Eggman's robots can't get through our frostwalls."

Vector made a thoughtful noise and met the platypus' gaze head on. "Didn't stop us gettin' your information though, did it? Or that rumor gettin' out in the first place."

"Who said either of those were accidents?" Starline linked his fingers together and smirked.

"Oh come on!" Espio's outburst caught everyone off guard except Starline. "There's no way you could have manufactured that from inside a cell. You wouldn't have had the means-"

Starline leant his head on one hand, not dropping his smirk as he stared back at the chameleon.

Espio bristled and dug his fingers into the table. "You're pulling my leg…"

"I think I'll let you puzzle over that one," said Starline.

Charmy sipped loudly on his soda straw as he looked between the two, a fascinated look on his tiny face. "I don't get it…"

Tsunami shook her head and turned back to the platypus. "However you did it, it doesn't matter. It's past, and we got the information. What I really want to know is how many supporters Gadget actually has? I got the impression not everyone agrees with him."

Starline fixed her out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, they don't. But they also don't really have any other option. He has them all under his thumb."

"Then would there be much retaliation if we exposed him?"

Starline sat up straight again and turned to her. "You want to expose him?"

Tsunami nodded, as did the rest of the table.

Starline 'hmm'd and leant back in his seat, steepling his fingers together. "Then you might also want to reveal how he's controlling his little army of soldiers."

A chill shot down Tsunami's spine as the platypus' beak turned up in a cold smirk.

"Because I can tell you one thing," he went on. "It's a whole lot more potent than a little mind-control harness."

...

**A/N - Yes, I had to add Doctor Starline. I don't know if anyone could have guessed who the 'other scientist' might have been prior to this? Given I pants my stories, he was a bit of a random idea that cropped up when I was re-writing the ending to this chapter as I wasn't happy with my original attempt XD I hope everyone is as happy with the twist as I was! IDW fans might be happy. And maybe have some ideas as to what questions may have been raised during that conversation?**

**Thanks everyone! Please R&R! =D**


	17. PW Chapter 17

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! I recently finished part one of Book Two the other day. Yes... part one. Given I've also got the prequel written, and a one shot, I've got a fair bit to upload for this story. So while Project Wreckingball is coming to an end next week with its final chapter, there is still loads yet to come!**

Chapter Seventeen

Pink mist swirled up around Infinite and Amy as they appeared in the middle of a playing field. The park spread out on either side of them, bordered by ornamental cherry trees.

Infinite released Amy, panting as he kept his ears trained on their surroundings as best as his mask would allow. There it was. The deep thrumming of chopper blades in the distance, growing gradually louder. He threw his arms in the air and roared.

"How do they keep finding me?!" He paced back and forth, glancing up at the skyscrapers for any sign of the helicopter. "I removed that tracking device! I took it out days ago! How-"

He turned his head slowly towards the pink hedgehog, and his lips parted to flash his teeth. She backed away from him slightly and lifted her hands to her chest, fixing him with an expression akin to a cornered rabbit.

"It's you, isn't it?" he growled.

"What?" she squeaked, voice trembling. "I didn't… I can't…!"

"They're tracking you!"

He lunged for her, grabbing her arms in his hands, but he wasn't looking at her face. His eyes trailed over her body, and he patted her arm where he expected her microchip to be.

"What are you doing?" she snapped, beating at his hands. "Get off me, you psycho!"

But it didn't deter him. That helicopter was growing closer. He could see it just above the skyscrapers, and its floodlight trailed down into the park. Searching like some giant eye from above.

Infinite's heart was racing. He stood back from Amy, scrutinizing her as his mind warred over the puzzle presented to him. GUN hadn't managed to track him after he'd removed his own microchip. Not even after he'd found Amy. So why were they able to now? What had changed? The only thing that had physically changed was Amy's outfit, back on Datastream's ship. But surely they wouldn't have guessed she'd buy that dress, and plant something on it?

A light sparked in his mind as the mental image of Gadget materialized, clutching a panicked pink hedgehog with his gun pressed to her head.

Was it then?

His fingers twitched at his sides as he took in her outfit. Lace trim, loose fitting… pockets! He lunged at her again, snatching at her before she could leap away. Her squeals filled the playing field as he groped in her left pocket, ignoring her hands beating at his head. His claws snagged at the fabric until something came away, dragging with it a few loose threads. He backed away from her, turning the device in his fingers. A small, pill-shaped thing attached to an adhesive patch. Something that wouldn't have come away easily, and was small enough to be overlooked.

He snarled at it, pinching it tight between his claws. "The sneaky little wolf."

"What is it?" Amy ventured closer to him, still clasping her hands near her chest.

He turned back to her slowly and flicked his glove repeatedly until the wretched tracker fell to the floor. Then he stamped on it, crushing it under his boot.

He grabbed Amy's wrist and pulled her into him. "We need to leave. They won't find us so easily this time."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that."

The voice rooted Infinite to the spot, and a light fixed on both him and Amy. Gadget strolled from the shadows with a soldier on either side. A twin-tailed fox and the hedgehog Amy had called 'Sonic'. Before them bounded that small robot dog, yipping away like a terrier trying to intimidate a mastiff.

The roar from the helicopter's blades faded away as it drifted over the park to vanish beyond the surrounding skyscrapers. Infinite watched it go, then turned back to the scientist, releasing Amy to free up his hands.

"So it's just you?" he growled. "What about the rest of your men?"

"They're currently rounding up the criminals who escaped during your rampage," said Gadget. "You made quite the mess."

Infinite tutted. "So you think you three can take me down yourselves? You're quite mistaken."

"Am I?" Gadget pulled his gravity gun from his inside pocket and leveled it towards Infinite's head.

Not this time.

Infinite leapt aside as the gun went off, narrowly dodging its blue bubble. He landed on all-fours, turning to face the wolf. His soldiers and their dog moved out from either side of him, fencing both Infinite and Amy in.

The pink hedgehog turned left and right as she looked for an escape route. But when the mallet materialized in her hands, she settled and held it defensively. Bracing herself to fend off the solders.

She was fine. If she knew that blue hedgehog as well as she claimed to, there was no way he'd hurt her. Was there? Infinite shook his head. No. Gadget was his, and so long as he kept that wolf at bay, Amy could handle the soldiers and their barking tin-can.

He leapt towards Gadget, whipping out his crimson sword. The wolf readied his gun again, but this time Infinite was prepared. With a wave of his free hand, long javelins erupted from the floor, spearing the wolf's gun-wielding hand. He yelped, dropping the gravity gun to the floor. Then Infinite was on him, knocking him onto his back.

The jackal sneered down at him with his blade pressed into his throat. Gadget's eyes widened behind his glasses as his right hand groped for his weapon. Infinite kicked it away, causing the wolf to grimace and meet his glare.

"See?" Infinite purred. "You underestimated me."

A few squeals came from behind him, followed by the thud of the mallet striking solid ground. But he tuned them out. He wasn't going to let Amy distract him this time. That last distraction had almost cost him dearly.

Infinite let out a dry chuckle and sat back on his haunches, pinning Gadget's arms at his sides with his knees. The wolf struggled beneath him, and his muzzle turned ghastly pale as he stared back up into Infinite's lone eye.

"Now, how do I go about killing you?" said Infinite. "Too quick would surely be mercy? I mean, you showed me no mercy, so why should you get such treatment?" He smirked as Gadget flashed his canines at him. Trying to intimidate him. Infinite trailed his sword up from his chin to his left ear, tracing over the scar with its blade. "Maybe I'll carve your other ear off first so you have a matching set."

"Infinite, please!" Amy squealed. "Stop this! He isn't worth it!"

The jackal bristled, but kept his focus on Gadget. He traced his sword along his muzzle and the wolf flinched back as it came too close to his eyes.

"I suppose I can show you some mercy," said Infinite. "You won't have to even see what I'm doing. I mean… I can get pretty imaginative with my reality manipulation. There's some things you might not want to witness."

Gadget winced and let out a whimper as the smell of burning fur filled the air. A stream of smoke rose up from his left hand, curling into the dawn air.

A smirk tugged at Infinite's lips. "See?"

Metal scraped across the concrete and Gadget jerked his arm free, knocking Infinite off balance. He keeled back as the butt of Gadget's gravity gun smacked him square in the chin. He grunted as pain shot through his tail, and he dragged himself up off it, leering at the wolf. It took him a moment to realize his sword had vanished with the shock. That tin dog stood beside Gadget, panting with mockery. The gravity gun's blue lights lit up and the wolf fired.

The dazed Infinite couldn't move fast enough. Blue energy engulfed him and dragged him off his feet. His vision tunneled as he tried to break himself free, but he could barely move, let alone use the Phantom Ruby.

Gadget wiped a glove across his muzzle to remove a thin trail of blood, then fixed Infinite with a sly grin.

"The tables have turned, jackal," he crooned. "You and your little girlfriend are coming with me. But first…"

Infinite's heart lurched as the gravity field changed. It gradually pressed in on him from either side, and he let out a howl as it slowly began to crush him.

Gadget's grin widened and he let out a burst of maniacal laughter. "Oh it works! But don't worry. I don't plan on killing you. I just need to make you realize who's in charge here."

Infinite flailed as the gravity field changed again, pulling out to the sides. The little dog beside Gadget backed away from him, keeping its torch-like eyes fixed on the jackal. No longer panting. No longer mocking.

Something snapped and Infinite let out a roar as pain exploded across his right shoulder.

"Stop it!" Amy cried. "Stop it, please! You're hurting him!"

Gadget's grin dropped and he looked past Infinite to the hedgehog. "Of course I am, you flea-ridden runt! How else am I meant to control him?"

"Control him?!" Sounds of a struggle broke out, followed by a few yells from the hedgehog. "Oh, he's right! You really are a monster! Just let him go!"

"Let him go?" Gadget gasped. Then he bared his canines and waved his free hand at the suspended jackal. "He's an alien! You've seen what he can do! That thing can't run free in Mainframe!"

A grunt came from behind Infinite, followed by a sick thud. Footsteps exploded across the playing field and Gadget let out a yelp of surprise as a pink blur flew towards him, knocking him onto his back. The gun bounded away across the grass, and Infinite struck the floor on his back. He groaned, pushing himself back up, then he threw his left hand towards Gadget. The wolf rose from the floor in a crimson bubble, limbs flailing as he fought against it.

A twisted grin spread across Infinite's muzzle and he pushed himself to his feet. Two could play that game. The pain in his right shoulder became a dull throb as everything began to knit itself back together, but his arm still hung limp at his side.

He twirled his hand, altering the gravity field in the bubble. A chuckle rose in his throat as Gadget twisted around like an out-of-control puppet. The wolf's howls filled the playing field, rising into the air as Infinite wrought on him the same treatment he'd just received.

Amy rushed to his side and placed her hands on his shoulder. "Leave it! He's not worth it! Just let him go!"

"Back off, Freak!" Infinite hissed. "You know nothing!"

"I know what you've told me, and I say it's not worth it!"

"Everything this maniac has put me through isn't worth it?!" Infinite snapped.

"I agree it was awful, but you don't need to lower yourself to his scummy level! Just let him go!"

Infinite stared at her for a good, long moment, taking in her pleading, glistening eyes. Was she serious?

"Everyone deserves a second chance," she said. "How can he change if you deny him that?"

A second chance… Like what he now had, being free from the wretched wolf's clutches? He flinched as the thought stabbed at his chest. Not everyone was so fortunate as to get a second chance.

Drat.

With a sigh he let the wolf drop to the floor. Gadget lay there, gasping, as he groped at his right arm. It hung limply, twisted at an unnatural angle.

Amy gave a small sigh of relief and pushed herself up. Then she offered a hand to Infinite. He stared at it, then raised his own to take it. But a sharp jab struck his shoulder and he snapped his neck around towards it. A tiny feathered dart. His eyes locked on the twin-tailed fox as he marched towards him, his face as expressionless as a robot's. The blue hedgehog stood behind him with his hand outstretched, his emerald eyes wide with surprise and horror.

Infinite fixed Amy in a glare then rounded back on Gadget. The foolish wolf had retrieved his gun, holding it at the ready.

Not. Again.

Infinite threw his head back in a roar and his entire body warped and twisted. He rose up as the park shrank down around him. Gadget and his soldiers were nothing but ants. Infinite dropped to all-fours and lashed out at the wolf, his dagger-like claws cleaving up earth. Gadget's limp body soared across the playing field to vanish inside a gorse bush. Then Infinite rounded on the soldiers, rearing up with a distorted roar that froze them in their tracks. He brought his huge paws down onto the soldiers, scattering them. Glitched pixels fluttered around Infinite's body as the illusion began to drain his strength. But he wasn't going to go down just yet. He refused. He narrowed his eyes at the soldiers as the blue one raised his weapon, but it was the fox who fired. Another dart into his shoulder. Then another struck his flank as he twisted, cracking the fox across the head with his oversized paw.

The world turned blurry and Infinite staggered, landing back down on all-fours awkwardly. Everything began to spin and he struck the grass on his side, crushing one of the darts beneath him.

...

Amy rushed to the jackal's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. His form had returned to normal the moment he'd passed out. What on earth was that? It had been like something from a monster B-Movie. Some kind of mutated canine, its body glitching and flickering. Crimson eyes that streaked through the air, leaving comet trails.

And yet here she was, crouching next to him. Without a chain. It had vanished the moment he'd been clubbed by Gadget, and yet she hadn't run. She'd stayed and fought. Fighting GUN agents. She had the chance to run, to lose the lunatic jackal. So why wasn't she running?

She looked up as Sonic crouched down beside her, his weapon now sheathed over his back. Tails lay unconscious a few feet away with T-Pup whimpering at his side, but she couldn't see Gadget.

"Tails is fine," said Sonic. "But I don't know how long he'll be out for."

"You should get him to a hospital." Amy hunched over Infinite and sighed. "What am I meant to do now?"

"You can start by getting him somewhere safe," said Sonic.

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you serious? Aren't you trying to apprehend him?!"

"Yeah, about that." Sonic cleared his throat and stood up, casting a nervous glance towards Tails. "We can talk on the way. I'll help you get him back to your hotel."

Amy watched as Sonic hoisted Infinite to his feet, looping one of his arms over his shoulders. He motioned Amy to help, which she did without question. Infinite wasn't especially heavy. There was surprisingly little to him. But there was no chance she could have carried him all the way back on her own.

"You know where we're staying?" she asked Sonic.

"Yes, and I advise you find somewhere else as soon as possible," he explained. "Gadget's soldiers will be looking for you when he comes back around."

Amy glanced back over her shoulder at the silent gorse bush.

"Don't worry." Sonic flashed her a boyish grin. "I struck him with a dart when Infinite sent him flying."

Amy felt her cheeks flush and she gave herself a mental shake to focus on where she was going.

"It's Tails I'm more worried about," said Sonic. "So we should get a move on before he finds our trail." He looked back at T-Pup. "You stay here, okay, bud?"

T-Pup gave a single yip and huddled down beside its handler.

As they moved across the park towards the trees, they found themselves washed over in silence. So many questions were clouding Amy's mind, and she didn't really know where to start. So she decided to start with the obvious.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"I've been asking myself the same thing," said Sonic. "But I don't agree with what Gadget is doing."

Amy cast him a sideways glance. "Did you… did you always know what he was up to?"

"Yeah." Sonic shrugged effortlessly under Infinite's weight. "But it's not until recently I've realized just how wrong it really is. I mean… using people to turn them into weapons? I get it that Infinite's an alien to our world, but even he doesn't deserve that treatment."

"You're talking as if he's below you," said Amy. "That's not the Sonic I knew back in college."

Sonic let out a lone laugh. "We've all changed, Amy."

Amy looked back over her shoulder at the park gate. He wasn't wrong. She couldn't get over how Tails had looked when he'd been fighting against her. And fighting Infinite. It was as if their lives meant nothing to him.

"But I've never agreed with Gadget's plan," Sonic went on. "Infinite is a living being, just like us. When I found out how he was being treated, I couldn't believe it."

"Then why didn't you say something?"

Sonic fell silent and looked away from her. She wondered if it was because of the morning commuters passing by them, casting skeptical glances in their direction. Many rolled eyes at the unconscious jackal, or crossed the road to get out of their way.

"Many of us wanted to say something," said Sonic. "But like everyone else, I was too scared."

"In case Gadget hurt you?" Amy asked.

"No." Sonic met her eyes briefly. "In case he hurt my family."

Amy almost dropped Infinite to the floor. She steadied him over her shoulder again and helped Sonic turn a corner with him onto a side street. Out of sight of prying eyes, and too narrow for a helicopter to get a good look into.

"He'd do that?" Amy hissed. "What kind of monster-"

"It's how these little GUN offshoots silence you," said Sonic. "I've been told they're all like that, but since Gadget took over after Starline, it got a lot worse. Put one foot wrong, and you can guarantee you'll come home to find your family missing. Or dead."

Amy's heart froze in her chest as Sonic went on.

"I never wanted to work for GUN in the first place," he said. "I didn't want to work for Eggman. I disagree with him. But when I found this advert to 'make Mainframe a better place', Tails and I signed up. It was just apprehending criminals, really. Clearing the streets of the thugs that threaten everyday life. Things seemed to be going well until that idiot took over. Everything was leaked within our walls. Every little thing they were doing to 'make Mainframe a better place' was just sick. Not just this poor guy, but every criminal they apprehended was turned into a test subject. Since then, I've been worried about my wife and daughter. I never wanted to put a foot out of place. If I just left, he'd want a means to silence me. He'd either leave my daughter without a dad, or I'd be worried every day he'd be picking everyone off one by one. Not just Aya and my kid, but my mum and dad, my in-laws, my aunt, Tails…"

Amy found herself watching her feet as she took all this in. She'd had no idea such things were going on inside GUN, the very agency that was meant to be looking after Mainframe and its inhabitants.

"Is that what's happened to Tails?" she asked. "Is that why he seems so cold?"

Sonic cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I mean, he was so sweet back in college," she went on. "So bright and cheerful. But now…"

Sonic let out a sigh and adjusted Infinite over his shoulder. "Yes."

Tears pricked Amy's eyes and she released the jackal's hand to wipe them dry.

"You see…" Sonic hesitated for a moment then shook his head. "Tails used to be engaged. But he found out one day she was actually a wanted criminal. A Phantom Thief who targeted GUN information. She was a threat, and given he was the only one who could get close to her, he was asked to turn her in. But he refused. Later that day, he came home to find his sister had been killed. It broke him."

Amy swallowed a trembling breath and turned her attention to the quiet street. The little lights on behind the windows. People oblivious to everything that was going on right under their noses.

"He had no idea refusing would be such a risk," Sonic went on. "And when I found him, he was a mess. I had to rush him to hospital, and once he'd come back to his senses, he just broke down all over again. I wouldn't let him out of my sight for days after he got back home, and as for his fiancee, she'd gone AWOL. Off on one of her heists, I guess. She had no idea what had happened. No one thought to contact her. Tails seemed to be perking up, so I went out to look for her. When I came back, I came home to the Tails you saw back there." He paused and scratched his nose. "You remember he's a genius? 'A-Stars' in every science project but one?"

"Oh, I remember that one he failed," said Amy. "He'd wanted to prove robots could one day replace us, taking over all our jobs. He believed they only failed him because he'd secretly tried to prove Eggman was a threat."

"Oh yeah. He never let that one go. But he put it to good use. All of it. He reasoned that what cost him his sister was his inability to separate heart from work. Every single emotion that would hold him back was carefully removed and put on a disk. He'd used the wiring of that neuro-link in his brain that allowed him to remotely access the Chaos Network and transfer it all to a computer. Don't ask me how, I'm no scientist. But when I got back, he told me he was going to destroy it. That it was all useless and such emotions only caused pain. So I begged him to save it in some way. That way, if he ever wanted it back then he had that chance."

Sonic fell silent again, allowing Amy to take it all in. She took a few breaths to steady herself, but she couldn't look at the hedgehog.

"Did he destroy it?" She deeply feared the answer.

"No," said Sonic. "He transferred it all into T-Pup."

Amy wiped her eyes again. That little robot dog…

"How much did he remove?" Amy asked.

"I honestly don't know," said Sonic. "But I often wonder if all that's left of the Tails we used to know is loyalty. Not just to me, but to GUN as well. And that honestly terrifies me."

He came to a stop and it took a moment for Amy to realize they'd arrived back at the hotel.

"I'll help you carry him to your room," said Sonic.

Amy muttered a 'thanks' but her mind was elsewhere. She barely even noticed the beaver receptionist's greeting or expression of concern. It wasn't until Infinite was lying on his back on the bed that she even realized they'd reached their room.

"Like I said," Sonic told her. "Make sure you move somewhere else when he wakes up. GUN know where you're staying now."

"Sonic?"

He froze by the door and turned his head back to her. For the first time she noticed his disheveled quills and the dark rings under his eyes. She diverted her gaze to the wall and shifted uneasily.

"Why have you helped us if you know it could harm your family?" she asked.

He shrugged again and shuffled a toe on the floor. "Sometimes you have to do something that isn't selfish to help the greater good."

"And how is this 'greater good' to you?"

"I know how much of a threat Infinite is." Sonic turned to face her fully. "And I saw how he reacted when you tried to talk sense into him."

She looked between the jackal and hedgehog and let her arms relax at her sides. "He kidnapped me."

"Well, you seem to be able to reel him back in," said Sonic. "And you're not exactly trying to escape."

She closed her eyes and sighed. That was true. Why?

"I'd say Mainframe is actually safer if he remains with you," said Sonic. "He clearly has no intention of hurting you. And Gadget will have noticed his reaction, too. So he'll be after the both of you, if not you first."

Amy hugged her arms around herself and perched on the edge of the bed. Great. Another looming threat just waiting to happen. What on earth had happened to her life? She screwed her eyes shut to hold back tears.

"You shouldn't have helped me," she sobbed.

"If I didn't, you'd both be locked up by now. And don't worry about my family. I know what I'm doing. Just think about what I've said? If GUN get their hands on him again, then Project Wreckingball will be well under way, and believe me when I say that only spells disaster for Mainframe."

Amy looked up at him, letting tears run down her cheeks. "You always had to play the hero."

Sonic flashed her another one of his grins. "Someone has to."

Before she could respond, he zipped out of the door, kicking up a wind behind him. The door struggled on its hinge against it before finally clicking shut.

She turned to look at the jackal, still out cold. His chest rising and falling steadily, and his eye twitching behind his mask. She could just leave him here. He wouldn't be able to stop her. She could run. Leave Central City and find a place in the suburbs. Contact her friends and ask them to help her. But everything Sonic had said hung over her like a damp fog. The danger looming over Mainframe. The fact that Gadget could probably track her down wherever she went. She'd have mercenaries on her tail. She'd be trembling whenever she heard a helicopter. Ducking out of the way of GUN's Strider Drones.

Was it really her best option to stay with him? Did she really have some kind of invisible hold over him?

Her eye wandered to a red dart sticking out of his shoulder and she reached over to pull it free. Tears pricked her eyes again as she turned it around in her hands. It soon found itself in the trash can, then she turned back to Infinite and choked back a sob.

"Why did you have to break into my life?" she whispered.

Of course, he didn't say anything. He just lay there, mouth slightly ajar, grunting softly. That wasn't normal. She found herself wondering if the mask was pressing into his nose, making it harder to breathe. She reached behind his head to unfasten it and slipped it free, carefully lifting it over his ears. Then she set it on the nightstand, turning it towards the wall so it wasn't staring at her.

He looked a lot more peaceful without it. She found herself watching him as her mind wandered over everything she'd been told like some stuck record. His ear and nose twitched in his sleep, becoming more of a frequent occurrence until he lifted a hand to rub at his scarred eye. He opened his good one, fixing it on Amy. Then he leapt up onto his haunches, causing her to jump back with a squeal.

"Don't look at me!" He turned and buried his face in his hands, his spine and tail bristling like an angry feline. "Where is it?!"

Amy handed him his mask and he snatched it from her, firing her a leer before fastening it back in place.

"I took it off to help you breathe better," she explained somewhat harshly.

"You had no right to remove it," he growled.

"What difference does it make? I've seen your face before."

"Not by choice. I don't want anyone to see my face."

"Why ever not?"

A low, rumbling growl rose in his throat and he cast a glance over his shoulder at her. "Because I hate it."

Amy blinked. "You hate your own face?"

"It reminds me of how weak and pathetic I was," he said. "And I don't want to remember him. It's the face of a dead man."

She huddled herself and glanced away from him. "Well, I think I'd prefer him to the man sat on this bed."

"Perhaps you would. You seem to like weak, pathetic people. Much like yourself."

"Oh, shut up." She bit back a sob and gazed towards the window so he couldn't see her eyes fill up with tears again. "Just be glad I didn't run away."

He visibly relaxed, eye flicking left and right as his mouth turned down in a confused frown. Then he tried to meet her gaze.

"Why didn't you?" he asked.

She shrugged and hugged her arms around herself. "Sonic thinks… I have some kind of placating affect on you."

He scoffed at that and settled onto the bed with his back against a pillow. "Don't be so sure of yourself."

"Are you saying I don't? Because I find it hard to believe as well."

He snorted and reached under the bed for a jar of peanut butter.

"I mean," she went on, "you did spare Gadget. And…"

"And it cost me," he said. "Don't you worry. I'll kill him yet."

"No."

He froze with his hand by his mouth. A large glob of peanut butter fell from his fingers onto his lap.

Amy trembled and fell back against the wardrobe. "Just leave him. Leave all of it! Just start over again. I'm tired of it, Infinite. I just… I want to stop running. To go back to my normal life. And… and you deserve a normal life as well. I know he hurt you, but… you can't keep hurting him because of it. Or all this will never blow over."

"He wants to start a war."

Amy screwed her eyes shut. "I know."

"Someone has to stop him."

"But do you have to kill him?"

Infinite sighed and rolled his head back against the wall. "Why does it bother you so much?!"

"Because he's alive, and has as much a right to live a peaceful life as you do!"

"My life is far from peaceful," said Infinite. "What, with GUN hounding me, Gadget on my back, and annoying pink hedgehogs!"

Amy doubled over as tears broke free, her entire body shaking with uncontrolled sobs. Infinite shifted to face her, lowering the jar of peanut butter. But Amy didn't see him. She slid down the wardrobe to the floor, sobbing into her hands.

"Oh, come on!" Infinite whined.

"No, you're right," she choked. "Life is far from peaceful. Everything… I've strove for… I've lost!" She swiped her hand across her face. "I don't like living in the city. But I stayed here for him. We lost touch after we left college. We went to different universities. We made new friends, mixed in different circles, but I always thought that… he'd come back for me. So I followed my dream of getting into fashion. Living in a nice, big apartment with two children and a husband who loves me. But everything changed. I changed. He's changed. He's married now, he has a family. And where am I? Stuck in a city I can't stand, running for my life from GUN who I've just found out are ruthless killers!"

Infinite grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her feet. She feebly swiped at him, too overcome with tears to put up a fight. He pulled her into him and fastened his arms around her, silencing her briefly. She stared at her hand fastened over his shoulder, then gave in and buried her face in his fur. It was better than nothing.

He trailed his fingers through her quills and she tensed as he nuzzled between her ears.

"What are you doing?" she murmured.

"You were frantic." His voice was oddly soft. "I didn't know what else to do."

She took in a deep, trembling breath and huddled into his chest. "Don't you want a peaceful life? Or is it just me?"

"It's not just you." He paused and removed his hand from her quills to rest on her back. "I want that as much as anyone else."

She trailed the fingers of her left hand over the edge of the ruby. "Well you don't act like it."

"That's because I'm working towards it. My peace won't come until I've finished what I set out to do."

She stifled a growl and pushed back from him. He released her without complaint and she took a step back to dry her eyes.

"I'm never going to get you to change your mind, am I? You're just going to destroy Mainframe regardless."

He stood watching her as she removed her tear-soaked gloves and discarded them on the dressing table.

"I didn't say I was going to destroy Mainframe, just now, did I?" he said.

She jerked her head towards him and her jaw went slack. He lifted his hands in a small shrug then flopped back onto the bed.

"So you have changed your mind?" She failed to mask the surprise in her voice.

He shrugged again and retrieved his peanut butter.

Amy shook her head and turned to the bathroom. "I'm going to shower. I have to get this awful day off me. After that, we have to move. GUN know where we are now."

"Take your time," he said. "I can confuse them for a while."

She didn't take her time. She couldn't. A quick shower and a change of dress was what she needed. Thankfully she hadn't managed to leave those behind on Datastream's ship. Her little shopping bag was still tucked away in the wardrobe. After she'd got herself freshened up, she strolled out of the bathroom… onto lush grass?

Infinite stood where the bed was meant to be, surrounded by a green meadow and two large oak trees. Clouds soared overhead, and colourful chao zipped about, chirruping amongst themselves.

She gazed about at it all as she strolled from the bathroom, and when the door closed behind her it seamlessly vanished into the vibrant surroundings.

"What is this?" she gasped.

"You said you wanted some peace," he said. "I'm giving it you."

She fixed wide eyes on his, speechless.

"It's just for a little while," he said. "I can't keep it going indefinitely."

She looked back around at the meadow and its curious chao. Amid the tree branches, flickies were singing. Hopping from branch to branch and fluttering their tiny wings.

"I can't believe you'd do something like this," she said. "You… seem to just destroy things."

He took a cautious step towards her and reached into his right glove. He pulled out a folded slip of card and handed it to her. As she unfolded it, her heart froze in her chest. A photo… of her screaming while Infinite laughed beside her, all while being chased by some giant reptile.

It was the photo from the theme park ride he'd 'modified'. She looked back up at him, stuttering to find the right words.

He took the photo back from her and popped it back into his glove. "Peace isn't about where you are, but about the company you keep."

"I can't believe you kept that." She looked up at his face. "When did you even get it?"

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't understand. After everything that's happened today…" She closed her eyes and sighed, then waved at the room. "Is this real? Are you telling me you want to stop this… rampage you've been going on?"

"We're not talking about that right now. You said you wanted some peace, and I'm offering it. I want you to just enjoy this. And maybe even add to it?"

He offered a hand to her and she looked between it and him, her muzzle twisting with confusion. She vaguely recalled what he'd told her about the Phantom Ruby's powers. He couldn't honestly be offering that, could he?

When she didn't take his hand, he took hers and pulled her closer to him, placing her hand on the ruby in chest and holding it in place. With his other hand, he tipped her chin up so she was looking him in the eye.

Her heart began to race as it sank in what he was offering her. "You're really…?"

"Anything," he whispered.

She turned back to the meadow, her heart still racing. A little chao drifted down before her, examining her face before zipping off again to rejoin its friends. A smile played at her muzzle and she turned her attention to a bare bit of grass. A little stream would liven it up nicely.

As if in answer to her thoughts, water rushed over the grass, carving out a path for itself and splashing up over her feet as it curved away into the horizon.

A tinkling laugh left her throat and she stood back from the jackal. He gave her a half smile and nodded at the stream.

"Not bad," he said. "Do you think it needs anything else?"

Amy tapped her lip with a claw. "Maybe some flower beds?"

He offered his hand and she took it. Immediately, flowers sprang up across the grass, filling the meadow with their sweet scent. She moved through them, leading the jackal along behind her. When she reached the furthest oak tree, she sat down beneath its shade and leant back against it to watch the clouds tumble by. Infinite settled down beside her, keeping her hand loosely in his.

Amy huddled against the trunk of the tree, listening to the flickies singing away. The chao zipped past her back and forth, and she found herself longing for them to have something to eat. A small apple tree leapt up across the stream, which the chao flocked too happily, indulging themselves in its fresh fruit.

Another thing she found the meadow missing was the hum of insects. One by one, fuzzy bees and vibrant butterflies appeared to kiss the flowers, busying themselves with their peaceful lives.

She leant her head back against the tree, letting herself soak it all in. Then Infinte's hand left hers, landing limply on the grass.

"Amy…"

She turned towards him as he sank away from her, the garden flickering out around him. He landed in a heap on his side, his head narrowly missing the hard frame of the bed. Amy leapt to her feet and rushed to join him.

"Infinite?"

Her heart was racing as she shook his shoulder, but he didn't move. She lowered her head to his chest and let out a relieved sigh when she heard the soft beat of his heart. But she couldn't just leave him there.

She shifted to his other side and hoisted him up onto the bed, grunting with the effort. She leant against it and sank to her knees, feeling her eyes fill with tears again. Why had he let her do that if he was already so exhausted?

She took his right hand and her thumb brushed the hem of his glove, catching the thin card tucked neatly away inside. The photo… the garden… she was winning, wasn't she? She'd given him something to care about. That's what Sonic had seen. Why she could 'reel him in'.

But she wasn't sure she wanted to be that 'something'. He frightened her. Yet despite all that, he'd still wanted to offer her some peace and quiet amid all the chaos. A power she'd believed was nothing but destruction had been used to create all that… for her.

She clutched his wrist and huddled forward on her free arm. "Thank you."

...

**A/N - Yay, fluff! Thanks for reading! As always, please R&R! =D**


	18. PW Chapter 18

**A/N - This is the final chapter to Project Wreckingball! Wrapping up Book One. There is still LOTS to come after this. **

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! I hope you continue to enjoy! =D**

Chapter Eighteen

Tsunami sat gobsmacked long after Starline had finished talking. He hummed to himself, swilling the dregs of his cider around his glass, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the table's reactions.

Was what he said true? Gadget actually had a hold over his soldiers by threatening their very families? It was sick.

She sank slightly in her seat and idly picked up her own glass. Still quite full as she'd barely touched it while he'd been speaking.

"I don't think I believe what I'm hearin'," said Vector. "What kind of monster…?"

As he trailed off, Rough glanced up from his empty glass. "I believe it."

"So do I," said Decode. "Now how do we expose this guy for who he is?"

"Oh that's simple," said Starline. "Put something out there on the Chaos Network for all to see, and the people will do the rest."

"He has a point," said Crash. "News flies like wildfire."

"Unless GUN silence it like they did that rumor," said Decode. "That fell flat until the Chaotix got hold of the information. And still no one knows what's going on."

"Well they're about to find out." Rough flexed his claws at the bush baby. "Hand me that computer. I'll do it."

"We'll all think of something together," said Tsunami. "We don't want to botch this up. It needs to be believable."

Rough's muzzle creased in a frown. "You sayin' I ain't believable?" His expression softened and he raised an eyebrow, gazing up at the ceiling. "Actually, I kinda like that…"

Espio waved him off and turned to Tsunami. "Might I suggest we put this somewhere Eggman can see it? If anyone is going to do anything about this deranged wolf, it would be him. I mean, Gadget is threatening Eggman's position over Mainframe." He lowered his voice and cast a wary glance at the barkeep, who was still bopping along to his headphones. "I know none of us care much about Eggman, but at the end of the day, he's the one who has the power to do something here."

"We could send him an email?" suggested Charmy.

"Not a bad idea, but a bit too formal," said Crash. "We need to get people riled up. That will get his attention. If Mainframe get wind that someone wants to start a war with mind-controlled soldiers then that would definitely put a bee in Eggman's bonnet." He flashed a grin at Charmy. "If you'll pardon the expression."

Charmy shook his head and ducked down in his seat. "I'm not going in anyone's bonnet!"

Starline leant forward and linked his fingers together. "I'm with the big pangolin on this one. Stir up some riots and snag Eggman's attention. I like it. That will definitely light a fire under Gadget's tail."

"But the question is, 'how'?" said Tsunami. "If we put a little message out there on the Chaos Network, it will just be dismissed as a rumor."

"Are you always this much of a pessimist?" asked Starline.

"Yes, she is," answered Decode.

Tsunami nudged him with her elbow, causing him to drop his computer onto his lap.

"You saw what happened the last time a rumor was leaked," said Starline.

"Yeah," Vector scoffed. "And it took what… two? Three years to actually become something?"

"Look at it this way." Starline sat back in his seat again and gave them what was meant to be a reassuring smile, but fell well short of the mark. "You have the first 'rumor'. Then you have the scores on your heads from raiding GUN's information. That, in it's own way, started its own share of rumors amongst you space pirates and bounty hunters."

"How do you know that?" Vector gasped. "Even I didn't know that, and I am one of them space pirates!"

Starline's smile broadened. "Then you have those photos of Twinkle Park where Infinite went a little wild. Then there's Gadget's malcontents. If they thought they could get one up on Gadget, they'd jump on that bandwagon, bells and all. Believe me, gentlemen… ma'am… this will work."

"All right." Espio met the platypus's eyes. "And where do we post it?"

Starline waved a hand across the table. "Everywhere."

Tsunami stared at the doctor blankly, while everyone else shuffled about reaching for their pocket computers. She sighed and pulled out her own, lying it flat on the table.

"And don't worry about making sure all your stories match," said Starline. "Write your own experiences. Inconsistencies only add more validity, after all."

"Seriously?" Vector looked up with a frown.

"Of course," said Starline. "If every one of your posts matched word for word, detail for detail, it would look more like an elaborate lie than the truth. And what you are writing is the truth, so… write away."

"And what about you?" Espio asked. "Aren't you wanting to get out your own side of this little story?"

"I already have," said Starline. "Where do you think the rumor came from in the first place?"

Espio fired a leer over the top of his computer. "I still think you're pulling our legs."

Starline chuckled and pushed himself back from the table. "I'll leave you all to it. Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to use the restroom."

Espio watched him go, then glanced up at Vector. The crocodile nodded and stood up, marching after Starline. The platypus smiled back at him and stood aside as he held the door open for the space pirate, before letting it close behind them.

"You're okay with that?" Crash asked Espio.

Espio shrugged and returned to his typing. "Vector can handle himself just fine. Besides, I don't think that guy's too much of a threat."

"He seems really weird," said Charmy.

"As weird as he might seem," said Decode, "he's opened a can of worms for us to deal with. And if it will put an end to Gadget and remove the price off our heads, I'm game for giving it a try."

Espio nodded at the bush baby, then the table fell into a brief silence.

Tsunami puzzled over her little article. The best place she'd thought to put it was the message board on Beatdrop City News. Being Mainframe's capital, their news site was often the go-to for the world's inhabitants. But would a post on a message board really gain much traction? All she could do was try.

A little run-down of what her and her crew had been through. The honesty in working alongside space pirates to get to the bottom of it. Bursting Infinite free from GUN's cells. Their encounter with Tumble, mind controlled and threatening. Finishing it all off with Starline's appearance on their ship and his suggestion to get the news out there.

There. It was done.

She set her computer down, finding she was one of the last ones to do so. Decode was still working away, and she ventured a glance over his shoulder. His message wasn't much longer than hers, but he'd opted for a massive social media site, posting under an alias.

Starline plonked himself back down before them with a fresh glass of cider, followed by Vector. The crocodile was finishing up with his own message, before tucking his computer away into his belt pouch.

"All done an' dusted," he said. "Now what, doc? Do we just wait or somethin'?"

Starline sipped his drink and leant back in his seat. "That's exactly what we do. Don't worry. News will fly before you know it."

...

Sonic hesitated by Tails' workshop door. It looked a lot more intimidating in the dim light of dawn. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He shook it off and gave two hearty taps before pushing it open. The fox was by his work bench as usual, meddling with one of his designs. Another weapon. One Sonic didn't recognize. The fox looked up over his shoulder and gave the hedgehog a nod before returning to his work. T-Pup, however, danced around Sonic's legs, yipping like an excited puppy.

Sonic stooped to pat his head. "Hey there, bud. Good to see you, too." Then he joined Tails' side. "Good morning." Silence. So Sonic cleared his throat and ventured, "What are you working on?"

"I thought I'd try making my own version of Gadget's gravity gun." Tails looked up at him blankly. "Did you even sleep last night? You look awful."

"Thanks, bro." Sonic rubbed beneath his eyes and leant one arm on the work bench. "I had a hard night. I… had to move Aya and Trace out of East Cipher to the Beatdrop Capital."

Tails didn't pause in his tweaking of the strange gun. "That's understandable."

"I don't know if we'll even be able to safely stay in contact." Sonic took in a deep breath to steady himself. "But I do believe I did the right thing, and… I'm sorry I had to take you out like that."

"If you'd explained what you were doing, I would have complied," said Tails. "I've never agreed with Gadget, Sonic, and you know that."

Sonic stared at the fox, but he still didn't look up from his work. T-Pup whimpered by Sonic's feet and nuzzled his leg. A lump rose in the hedgehog's throat and he cleared it, diverting his gaze to the closed front door.

"Your family should be fine," said Tails. "So long as they stay off Gadget's radar, and keep a low profile. Sending them to a massive city was the best thing to do. A suburban area might have been easier to trace them to."

Sonic turned back to his friend. "You really agree with me? Because I wasn't sure what… I wasn't sure how you'd react."

"To being shot?" Tails shrugged. "It's part of the job. I have no loyalty to GUN. It's a job. It paid."

"You're talking as if it's all past-tense."

Tails reached over for his holo-computer and the screen flashed up above it. Sonic's eyes widened as he took in the message board for Beatdrop City News. It opened up with an article posted about Gadget's plan 'Project Wreckingball', and the comments that followed it were a mixture of disbelief and accusations. But the publics' feelings were clear. If that really was going on in GUN, right under Eggman's nose, was he really fit to run Mainframe?

Tails turned back to his work, his expression as blank as ever. "I think its safe to say if rumors of Eggman's suitability are going around like wildfire, Gadget's no longer our number one threat."

"You're not kidding," said Sonic.

His heart was racing. Was it really all over? No… it was way too early to say. There was every possibility this could blow over. Eggman could call it out as one massive lie. Gadget could get away with it, just like he'd been getting away with it for the past several years.

But deep down, Sonic felt something he'd not felt in a long time, and it put a small smile on his face.

"I'm gonna have a lie down, okay?" he told Tails. "Wake me up if anything changes."

Tails gave a curt nod, and Sonic vanished into his bedroom for a much needed sleep.

...

Gadget rushed around his office, stuffing various paperwork into his bag. The dim light from his computer screen was all he had to go by. Keeping the laboratory in darkness would keep prying eyes off his back.

One by one, he wrenched open the drawers of his filing cabinet. Each one rattled on its rails, but at this point he didn't care. He had to get away, before Eggman's goons came crashing down on the lab like a hurricane.

Finally, he spun back to his desk and grabbed his holo-computer, shutting off its screen and the accusatory comments running rampant over the social media page. It was everywhere. His research, his plans, his vision… everywhere.

He tucked the computer into his bag and rushed from his office, racing blindly down the dark hallways towards the main doors. But then he paused beside one of the cells. Its electrical forcefield flickered at one side, where the wall had been beaten repeatedly and peppered with deep claw marks. The dozing form of Tumble sat in the far corner, well away from his bed. A spark went off in Gadget's mind, and a smirk tugged at his lips. He didn't have to be completely unprotected.

He placed his hand over the control panel and the forcefield vanished. The skunk snorted a couple of times and looked up from his slumber. The blue lights flickered softly at either side of his helmet.

"Come on," said Gadget. "Let's take a walk."

Tumble rose to his feet and marched out of the cell, keeping his eye-piece locked on the wolf. Intimidating, yes, but completely under his control.

Gadget adjusted his bag over his shoulder and turned to march down the corridor. A much less frantic pace, until they reached the doors. Then he bolted with Tumble in tow, across the courtyards and through the gates, out into the light of the rising sun.

...

Amy had spent hours as tense as a tightly coiled spring, perched beside the bed with her ears trained on the window. But there hadn't been so much as a hint of a helicopter flying overhead. Her only shock had come when the light of a Strider Drone had stalked past the window, but it hadn't been looking for either her or Infinite. It was just marching along on its routine path, keeping its watchful eye open for trouble.

A few soft grunts came from the jackal, drawing Amy's attention onto him. He stirred and cracked his eye open, fixing it on Amy. She hadn't noticed her clammy hand was still clasped over his wrist. She withdrew it, resisting the urge to wipe it on the front of her red dress.

His lip curled in an unimpressed frown, and he pushed himself up, casting a wary glance to the window.

She sighed and clutched the bed sheet. Back to his normal, cold self. Had everything about that garden been an illusion? Even himself? Or did he actually blame her for him fainting? She shook it off and turned back to him.

"What you did," she said softly. "It was really sweet, and-"

He raised a hand to silence her. "Stop it. I just did what was necessary."

"Necessary?"

"You were hysterical," he said. "Now forget about it."

"Okay, fine." Not like she could. It was still rooted in her mind, playing out like a dream trying to cover up the bigger problems in her life. "We need to move. We can't stay here. They'll be looking for us."

He snapped his attention back onto her and huffed. "I'm surprised you're even still here, if I'm honest. Any other hostage would have ran like the wind."

"I told you! I don't have anywhere else to go. They're looking for me, too, you know. We're safer together."

Infinite's nose crinkled and he bared a canine at her. "You're still pining over what that blue spiky freak said, aren't you?"

Amy screwed her eyes shut. "It's been a lot to take in."

"Well you're not crying on me again."

He kicked his legs over the edge of the bed, and she stepped back from him. What, no chain? She took in a wavering breath and balled her hands into fists.

"Infinite?"

He looked up at her and, at her stoic expression, raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know if you've realised it yourself or not," she began, "but… I want you to know you don't need that chain anymore. I've not run away when I've had the chance. I've stuck by you by choice. I don't know why, but if there's any way I can actually get through to you-"

"Forget it," said Infinite. "You don't have any hold over me, Freak."

She closed her eyes and sighed. No. She wasn't going to let him put her off.

"You said you don't want to destroy Mainframe anymore," she said.

"I never said that."

"But you hinted at it." She met his gaze head on and let her hands relax. "I know there's good in you somewhere, and if I can help you to realize that, and see the good in others too, then I want to see that deal I made with you through to the end."

"So you're telling me I don't need to chain you?" He inclined his head on one side and his expression softened to an almost friendly state. "Do you see a chain, Pink Freak?"

Even though she knew it wasn't there, she still found herself looking down at her hands. She met his gaze again and forced herself to remain stoic. He still frightened her, but she didn't want him to see that.

"You've proved to me I don't need it," he said. "So I won't use it. Unless I have to."

"I'm not a hostage, Infinite, I'm with you by choice." She took in another breath, fighting the urge to look away from him. "But I do need you to know one thing. I won't stand for you hurting others. You don't need to hurt, or kill, Gadget or anyone else."

"What if they hurt me?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything against self defense," she said. "But you can't just kill him. You can't threaten to kill people, it worries me and it's the kind of behavior that can get you locked up again."

He snorted at that and glanced away from her.

"I don't want to give up on you," she said. "But that behavior really scares me, and I can't help but worry you might one day lash out at me."

He jerked his head around to her, and a confused frown appeared on his lips.

"If you promise to work on that," she said, "then I promise to stay strong and have patience with you. But if you do ever hurt me… I'm leaving, and you'll be on your own."

He trailed his eye up and down her, almost as if he expected her to elaborate or tell him it was nothing but a joke. When she didn't, he let out a sigh and folded his hands on his lap.

"Fine," he said.

"Seriously?" she asked. "I don't want you to lie to me."

He fixed her out of the corner of his eye. "Why would I lie?"

She nodded and strolled across the room, pausing to grab her bag from the wardrobe.

"I'm thinking the Beatdrop Capital," she said. "We're going to have to move fast if we want to avoid GUN."

His shadow fell over her and she felt her quills bristle. She turned to face him, clutching her bag in both hands.

"Wherever," he said. "But how do we get there?"

"Train."

She pulled the door open and froze. Beside it sat her mallet. Not the one Infinite had made, but her very own mallet. Had Sonic brought it back for her? She picked it up cautiously, fearing it might turn into a pile of cockroaches again. Infinite's heavy breath tickled her ear and she glanced at him over her shoulder. His lip pulled back in a sneer as his lone eye watched her cautiously. Calculating.

She tucked the mallet away behind her back and smoothed out her dress. "I don't know how it got here. But it's more reliable than your illusory one, right?"

"I guess." He placed a hand on her back to steer her from the room, letting the door close behind them. "But I'm watching you."

...

Tsunami left the bar ahead of her crew, making her way back to her ship. Starline plodded along beside her, oblivious to the stares from the space pirates and mercenaries dotted about. Her mind was still reeling over everything. The message boards had blown up after the information had been posted. Opinions were wildly mixed. But they'd had an effect already. The street was humming with talk about 'GUN's secret project' and 'threat of war'.

As she rounded onto the main road heading for the docks, a massive advertisement billboard showcasing the next big trend in EggTech butler 'bots flared to life, its advert vanishing to be replaced by Eggman's mustachioed face. The words 'Emergency Bulletin' scrolled across the bottom in large, red text. Tsunami jerked to a halt, almost tripping Starline in the process. All eyes went to the billboard as Eggman's voice boomed out across the main street of Pulse City.

'People of Mainframe,' he announced, 'I wish to address the rumor that has gone rampant around the Chaos Network this morning. I dread to say that such a rumor worries me. For a while now, I have worried that GUN is riddled with people who disagree with my laws and control over Mainframe. Seeing it flare up like this in a matter of hours only adds to my worries, and I can assure you this will not go without inspection.

'As such, I have taken liberties to apprehend this scientist named Gadget and anyone who works for him. The laboratory that has been masquerading as a prison cell just off the coast has already been raided, and many of his followers have been taken into custody for questioning. Gadget, however, has not been found, and I implore anyone who has seen him, or knows of his whereabouts, to contact my agents immediately. This I will address now, especially to this wolf's friends or family, that anyone who fails to report any sightings will be charged with treason. I repeat - failure to report any sightings of this wolf will be treated as treason!

'As a personal 'thank you' to the ones responsible for uncovering this Gadget and his threat of war disguised as 'Project Wreckingball', their bounties have been nullified. Team Datastream, the Chaotix, and Rough the Skunk. As for this 'Project Wreckingball' that has broken free from Gadget's clutches, I shall have my own men look into this incident. I advise all citizens to stay well clear of this jackal until we know what threat he really poses.

'I apologize for this impromptu interruption to your day. Good day, Mainframe, and keep working hard to make this world a better place.'

Tsunami stared aghast at the billboard as Eggman vanished to be replaced by the EggTech advert.

"Absolute genius," said Starline. "He truly is. 'Treated as treason'? Well that's one way to scoop up Gadget, hmm? It's a shame old Eggman isn't really fit to run Mainframe."

Rough's shoulders slumped as he gazed longingly at the billboard. "He didn't say nothin' 'bout my brother, though, did he? What happened to him after that raid on the lab?"

"I've no idea," said Tsunami. "But I can't help but feel a little concerned."

"I still can't get my head around that man," said Espio. "But if he's cleared our bounties, then part of me is grateful at least."

"Aye." Vector placed a heavy hand on the chameleon's shoulder and flashed Starline a toothy grin. "Turns out your idea was a good one, doc."

Starline adjusted his spectacles and returned the crocodile's grin. "Of course it was. Now if you don't mind, I have to find a change of outfit and a lift back to Mainframe's surface."

"You could always hitch a ride with us?" Crash suggested. "It's the least we can do after you helped us clear our names."

"Oh, I wasn't helping to clear your names," said Starline. "I was merely trying to get rid of Gadget and bring a stop to his shenanigans. You were merely tools in my plan, who's actions brought their own unexpected rewards."

Crash huffed and leant back against the wall.

"So, other than get back to Mainframe's surface, what's your plan now?" Tsunami asked Starline.

Starline shrugged. "I don't know. It's not as if I have a lab to get back to, or loyal soldiers to back me. I guess I'll be living a quite life somewhere."

"So you no longer want Eggman's seat?" Espio's voice was laced with warning.

Starline chuckled and smoothed out the front of his jumpsuit. "Oh, who knows what the future might hold. My day might come yet. But for now, this scientist has other things to think about. Like what to have for lunch." He beamed at them then turned his back. "Good day."

Tsunami watched the platypus strut away into the crowd and shook her head.

"What a strange man," said Charmy.

"You're telling me," said Espio.

"I'm not entirely sure we can trust him," said Tsunami. "But he did help us. My feelings are pretty mixed."

"I don't trust him as far as I can throw him," said Rough. "And I really do wanna throw him."

"I think he's worth keeping an eye on, personally," said Espio. "But for now, I'll let things slide. I could use a nap."

"Preachin' to the choir, bud." Vector yawned then gave Tsunami a pat on the back. "Guess it's back to 'cat'n'mouse' eh? See ya, Datastream."

Charmy stretched and yawned in the air then turned to follow his friends. But not without giving Tsunami and her friends a hearty wave.

Crash watched them go with his arms tucked behind his head. "So… our names have been cleared. What do you wanna do first, sis?"

"Sleep," she said. "Then we'll see if any jobs have come up over the past few days."

"Really?" Decode rolled his eyes. "I could really use a vacation, if I'm honest."

"Okay, we'll have a break."

Tsunami stretched and yawned, and her arm brushed against Rough's shoulder. She glanced at him, but he didn't appear to have noticed. Instead looking lost, casting glances at the billboard as though hoping Eggman would reappear to tell them all his brother had been found.

When she looked up again, Crash and Decode were already making their way back towards The Raptor.

She turned back to Rough and caught his eye. "You coming with us? Or do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I… dunno," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I told you we'd help you find your brother, and I stand by my promises."

"That's just it." The skunk lifted his hands in a shrug and dodged her gaze. "I've been thinkin', and I don't think I'm gonna take your offer to help me."

Her jaw dropped, but she snapped it shut again and grunted. "Fair enough. So what, are you running solo?"

"It might be easier," he said. "After all that… I dunno. I just don't wanna risk puttin' you or your friends in danger again."

"Noble." She paused and leant against the wall beside him. "I can't say we've been in worst scrapes. But we know what we're up against now. And given Gadget's plan has been uprooted, it might actually be easier to rescue Tumble now."

"It don't matter how easy it is. I'm just gonna fly this solo, and if I need any help then I'll ask someone else."

"So you don't think my team are good enough?"

"I never said that." Rough glanced up at her, but there was no hint of any playful smile. "You've all been through a lot. We all have, and I don't think I would've gotten outta there alive without ya. I know you wanna put all this behind you. So I'm givin' you that chance. Just… thanks for offerin' to help me. I don't think many others would."

She sighed and kicked herself back from the wall. "Well, if you're turning down my offer I'm retracting it. If you ask again, it will be a firm 'no'. Understood?"

"I wasn't gonna press you for help anyway, so it don't matter. Here."

He held out a computer to her and it took her a moment to realize it was actually hers. She snatched it back off him, quickly checking over it. The screen was still lit up, sporting a new contact addition to her phone book. His name, followed by his number.

She looked up from it and frowned. "You do know that if we part ways we go back to being enemies?"

He shrugged and one of his boyish smiles finally appeared on his muzzle. "I do like me a good challenge, love."

He pushed himself from the wall and turned away from her to swagger away down the street. But she couldn't help thinking he was missing a spring in his step.

"Rough?"

He froze and turned his head to look back at her.

"I hope you manage to save him," she said.

He nodded and turned away again, raising his hand in a wave.

She sighed and looked back down at her phone, her thumb hovering over the 'delete' option. But instead she switched the screen off and tucked the computer back into her belt pouch, silently berating herself as she went to join her friends back on The Raptor.

...

Starline stepped out of the glowing portal, closing it up behind him. Then he straightened up his new tie before approaching the door to the massive mechanical structure that had replaced the Hall of United Nations decades ago. The only sentry standing duty was a massive chrome robot, and it leveled a gun towards the platypus's head. He froze before the door and looked up into its glowing blue eyes.

"I am here to see Doctor Eggman?" he said.

Shutters lowered over the robot's eyes slightly, giving it the effect of an intimidating leer.

"No one shows up without appointment," it said.

"This is quite urgent, I can assure you," said Starline. "It's about Gadget and his scheme, 'Project Wreckingball'. I have some… sensitive information that I cannot transfer via the Chaos Network."

The sentry robot lifted its gun up beside its head and stared at Starline for a good, long moment. Then it pushed a button on its wrist.

"Doctor Eggman, there is someone here to see you." A pause as a worried look crossed the robot's face. "He claims to have information about this Gadget?"

Right on cue, the mechanical door parted down the middle. Starline gave the robot a friendly bow before turning to enter the doctor's lair. Cameras rotated to follow him as he strolled down the clinically clean hallway, and small beetle-like robots rolled back and forth, watching him curiously. At the bend in the corridor, a small, spiky robotic hedgehog glared up at him, cutting off his path.

Starline let out a nervous chuckle and toyed with the hem of his glove. "Are you… to take me to Doctor Eggman?"

The hedgehog's eyes narrowed and it took a step back, then turned and marched away from him. After a few steps, it noticed Starline wasn't following and snapped its head around to glare at him over its shoulder.

"Oh, I guess that's a yes? Do pardon me."

Starline followed the hedgehog through the winding corridors, passing several laboratories that at one time in their history would have been meeting rooms and conference halls. The long walk ended at the door to a dome-shaped room, the door of which was already open. Doctor Eggman sat with his back to the door, facing a series of screens showcasing footage of Mainframe's various cities and suburbs. Footage caught live from his robot drones.

He swiveled his chair around to face Starline and looked him up and down.

"And who might you be?" Eggman's voice was much less inviting than in his quarterly speeches.

Starline's heart pounded and he stooped in a polite bow. "Please, call me Starline. It is such a pleasure to meet you! I've admired your work for years."

Eggman scoffed. "A man of good taste, I see? My sentry said you have information about that wretched Gadget?"

"Oh, wretched he is, sir. I'm the one who got that information out there for you to see!"

"I thought that was Datastream and their allies?"

"They were pawns in my little plan, sir. It would have looked suspicious had I worked solo. You see, I have much information about Gadget, GUN and his scheme that I think you will find very valuable."

"Then get to it. I'm a busy man."

Starline took a few steps closer and reached inside his waistcoat pocket. The metal hedgehog didn't take its eyes off his hands as he pulled out a small computer. He handed it to Eggman, who's larger hands dwarfed the device. A brief silence passed between them has the human scanned over the information it contained.

"This isn't new to me, Starline." He stuffed the computer back into the platypus's hands. "I kept a watchful eye on GUN since that rumor first came up. I know GUN is full of malcontents who have broken off into their own divisions. None of them showed any sign of a threat until Gadget reared his ugly head."

"Maybe so," said Starline. "But I have been working outside of Gadget's radar. My original goal was to correct such divisions without taking any lives. Smooth things out, if you would. I was in charge of this 'Project Wreckingball' long before he took over and named it as such. I designed the device he uses to control his puppets, and the collar used to trap Infinite's powers. If you had access to this technology, I think you'd find it very useful in bringing Mainframe back under your flawless control."

"I have no need to turn flesh and blood creatures into mindless puppets, Starline. I have a whole army of robots for that."

"The soldiers he's been manufacturing are to be used to counter your robots, sir," said Starline. "Did you find any of that research in his lab?"

Eggman raised an eyebrow and leant towards Starline, causing him to take a step back. "No?"

"Exactly as I thought. I think I could be of much use to you, sir."

"And how might a fuzzy little animal like you be of use to me?"

"I've been running around Gadget for years, sir. He thought he'd done away with me, but I played the prisoner, coming and going when it suited me until I got to the bottom of everything. You see, I possess a power that allows me to come and go at will. I can travel anywhere I want in the blink of an eye thanks to a little device I created, named the Warp Topaz. I know more about his little scheme than he realizes. And I know more about what's going on in Mainframe than you do. Word on the street, what happens outside the watchful eyes of your spectacular drones."

Eggman looked back at his computer screens then narrowed his eyes at Starline. "You seem like a sneaky little so-and-so, if I do say so myself."

"That's a huge compliment coming from you, sir!" Starline grinned and stood up straight. "I was the original visionary behind The Infinite Project, and his powers showed promise. I gained an interest in your work through him, when he claimed you were the one who gave him access to his power. If we can retrieve him, then-"

"'We'?"

Starline's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, please pardon my presumptions, sir. I was hoping I might be able to work for you?"

"And why would you want to work for me?"

"Your technology fascinates me," Starline explained. "Unlike Gadget and others working against GUN, I believe your technology only offers good to Mainframe. It certainly saved my life a few years ago. If it wasn't for that experimental procedure, I'd be dead by now."

"Interesting… And you want to assist me by reeling in Infinite?"

"Exactly!"

Eggman waved a hand. "I have no interest in a failed experiment, Starline."

Starline stuttered slightly. "Failed experiment? But sir, his powers are extraordinary, and he seemed quite heated towards you. If he proves a threat-"

"I have means in place should that vermin prove a threat, I can assure you. I'm more interested in what you have to offer me, Starline." Eggman leant back in his seat and his lips turned up in a smirk. "Where exactly is this Warp Topaz?"

"Fastened in a socket in my chest," said Starline. "It was a convenient means to hide it from Gadget and his soldiers, while they believed they had the real one. Although when the sneaky wolf began to grow suspicious, I kept it hidden in a pocket dimension in my cell."

"You're a smart platypus, Starline. Fine, you can work for me."

Starline practically squealed, clasping his hands together.

Eggman pushed himself from his seat and nudged the hedgehog aside. "Allow me to show you around. You'll need to know the ropes if you're going to successfully spy on Mainframe for me. My soldiers have been looking for something for me for quite some time. Something that has been kept out of public sight for decades, and none of them have successfully apprehended it."

"Oh?" Starline inclined his head on one side. "What object is this?"

"That doesn't concern you," said Eggman.

The hedgehog flexed its claws and advanced towards Starline, reaching out towards his throat. Eggman placed a hand on its chest, stopping it in its tracks.

"Easy there, Metal Sonic. You can have at him only if he turns out to be a mole. We don't want to cost ourselves information now, do we?" He grinned at Starline who gulped audibly. "Do you want a look around my labs, Starline? You can see where the magic happens. This room we are in right now is only the tip of the iceberg of what I can see in Mainframe."

"Really?" Starline gasped. "How much of this world can you see through your robots?"

Eggman's grin widened. "Everywhere. But vermin hide. They escape my probing cameras, finding little nooks and crannies their cameras can't reach. Maybe you might be able to point out any blind spots my drones are missing?"

Starline regained his composure and leant forward slightly in his eagerness. "Oh, there are plenty of those in Pulse City, sir." He grinned from ear to ear. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The Beatdrop Capital." Eggman chuckled and toyed with his mustache. "My target's last known sighting."

...

**A/N - And that concludes the final chapter to Project Wreckingball! Lots of questions have been raised, huh? It's preparation for Book Two! **

**The prequel comes next (Book Zero), and should drop this coming Saturday. I know, it seems odd to have a prequel AFTER Book One, but there are too many spoilers to the content of Project Wreckingball so... **

**I hope you enjoy it nontheless!**

**As always, please R&R! =D**


	19. ML Chapter 1

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! The next story in Mainframe is a mini prequel, which is only three chapters long. It covers the events that unfolded prior to Project Wreckingball. I didn't want to post it BEFORE Project Wreckingball as there are spoilers for that story that I wanted to keep a surprise as they were uncovered. I hope you enjoy it regardless!**

Book 0 - Memory Leak

Chapter One

Deep, pulsing music filled the small ship as the green hedgehog nodded along to his music, tapping one hand on his knee while the other rapped on the dashboard. Fluffy clouds rolled past his ship, tinted with a dramatic spray of red and orange as the sun set ahead of him.

The music cut out abruptly to be replaced with a shrill tinkle, and Manic cast a disgruntled look at the computer's speaker.

"What is it, Navi?" he asked.

'We shall shortly be arriving at Pulse City,' replied a female voice. 'Will you be wanting to make any last minute preparations?'

"Nah, that won't be necessary." He twirled his laser around one finger and leant back in his seat. "I've got everythin' I need."

'Are you sure?' the computer asked. 'It has been exactly two months and fifteen days since you last stepped foot in Pulse City. After what happened-'

"Not necessary," Manic affirmed. "Just get us there safely. I know how to look after myself. Been doin' so for years. You know that."

'As you wish.'

Navi's voice cut out, allowing the music to take over again. A grin spread across Manic's face and he tapped away at his leg again.

"Oh yeah. That's my jam."

Ahead of him, Pulse City's familiar skyscrapers and neon billboards appeared out of the clouds, and deep in the centre stood the city's Chaos Amplifier, its bulb blinking green and blue as it spread the Chaos Network across Pulse City.

Manic leapt from his seat, leaving Navi to guide his ship into Pulse City's docks while he double and triple-checked over his haul. All bagged up and secure. Fantastic. He grabbed his black cape and matching eyemask from the coat peg and was just putting them on as the ship came to a halt.

Navi's voice rang out once more. 'We have now arrived at Pulse City. Please take care, Manic, and have an enjoyable stay.'

"Oh, I shall." Manic winked at the speaker by the hatch. "I'll be back in a few."

Before she could accuse his statement of making 'no sense whatsoever', he dropped onto the docks and closed up the hatch. Curious eyes flashed in his direction, followed by a few sneers from the passing space pirates. He grinned back at them, making sure he knew where his laser was. That way they would also know and keep their distance. They weren't his targets. His target was the Black Market. The first port of call for any self-respecting Phantom Thief.

The Black Market stood at the end of one of Pulse City's busiest roads, a good walk on from the Scarlet Lounge. Its neon sign hung at an awkward angle above the gaping door, its roof resembling that of a black tent. Voices filled the inside as space pirates and mercenaries gathered around the various market stalls. Shouts came from some of the markets as the sellers announced their wares, or announced prices for the most wanted items of that day.

Manic had his sights set on one stall in particular. A stall for fresh robot parts. The seller, K, sold them as upgrades and enhancements for home robots, or even to enhance EggTech. Not that GUN ever visited Pulse City. But they had their contacts.

Manic pushed his way between a sly-looking coyote and a massive rhinoceros and dumped his bag onto the table. K fixed his pale blue eyes on Manic and removed a thin cigarette from between his beak.

"Manic!" Despite his tone, he didn't look remotely impressed. "Not seen you in weeks. Thought you were dead."

"Not today." Manic opened his bag and let the contents roll out onto the crow's table. "I've got some parts I took from a Strider Drone. Took out a couple of fliers, as well." He tossed one of the chopper blades towards K to make his point.

The crow caught it and gave it a quick check-over. "Not bad." He then peered at the hedgehog over his spectacles. "But I thought Phantom Thieves didn't specialize in 'robot hunting', Manic."

The hedgehog shrugged. "Who said I hunted them? I took them off some wealthy mayor who kept them in his garden in Rave City."

The rhinoceros snorted, spraying the hedgehog with spittle. "That were you?!"

Manic grinned up at him and winked. "Of course! He didn't exactly put up much of a fight, either."

Creases appeared along the coyote's muzzle and Manic found himself locked in twin glares from the two space pirates.

"Not exactly somethin' someone should brag about," the coyote said in a nasally voice.

"What?" Manic shrugged again. "Just because space pirates haven't got the gall to rob the rich and famous?"

The rhinoceros tugged at the hems of his gloves then balled his fists together, ready to pummel the smaller hedgehog. Manic raised his hands and laughed, trying to calm the space pirate and failing miserably.

"Just pay the man," the coyote spat at K. "Before Crusher here turns him into a smear on your tablecloth."

The crow tutted and reached into his belt pouch. "I'll give you five thousand credits for the lot."

Manic swiveled towards him, turning his back on the enraged rhinoceros. "Five thousand?! That's worth at least ten!"

"Seven." K met his eyes and popped his cigarette back between his beak. "And that's my final offer."

Manic sighed, casting a wary glance back at the space pirate looming over him. He thought he heard his knuckles crack. "Fine. I'll take it. But you're screwin' me over, K. I'm gonna find me a new buyer."

The crow tapped on his computer and Manic's visor flared to life. Seven thousand credits had been added to his account. K didn't even blink at the hedgehog's security measure.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya." K flashed him a grin and tucked the bag beneath his table.

'Great,' Manic thought as he left the table. Now he'd need a new bag.

He strolled out of the market, glancing back to make sure Crusher and his lackey weren't tailing him. Then he made a beeline for Scarlet Lounge. A nice, cold beer sounded like a treat after a long ride through Mainframe's skies.

The bar was bustling with its patrons, some familiar some not so familiar. The Hooligans, a bunch of unruly space pirates, were sat around their usual table arguing with a pair of skunks. He gave them some wide berth, making his way towards the bar. But a pair of sparkling blue eyes caught his attention at the table beside them.

"Well, well, well," said the white fox. "If it isn't Manic the Hedgehog."

Manic froze, meeting her gaze. She leant on one hand, smirking, while a blue and black nightjar sat beside her, scowling at him. Manic knew both of them. Bitty and Strobe, his two rivals. A smirk tugged at the side of his mouth and he joined their table, leaning his hands on it as he eyed the pair.

"Hey! It's Frosty the Snow Fox." He chuckled at the piercing, icy glare from the white fox. She didn't have to say anything for him to understand how much she hated that name. "You say that as if you never expected me to come back," he crooned.

"One can dream." She leant back in her seat, never breaking eye contact. "It would make competing with you a lot easier, anyway."

Strobe tutted and turned his attention to the Hooligans' table.

Manic chuckled at the nightjar, causing his feathers to stand on end. "Aww, still bitter I beat you on that jewel heist?"

"You got lucky!" Strobe snapped.

"I must get lucky a lot then," Manic mocked.

Strobe raised a finger and opened his beak to speak, then waved off the hedgehog and sank back into his seat.

"Don't worry, handsome," Bitty crooned at the nightjar. "He won't get so lucky next time. How about we all go for the same thing, huh? Make it a contest."

Manic pushed himself back from the table and gave a small laugh. "Hold that thought. I think I'm gonna need a drink in me before I make any deals with you, fox."

Bitty winked one of her blue eyes as Manic turned away towards the bar. So she wanted to play a game now? Well, it would certainly make his next job more entertaining. Not that he had one planned. Robot parts had become harder to come by these days. He'd got lucky with the mayor. Normally his targets put up much more of a fight.

He returned to their table and set his drink down beside him, locked once more in Strobe's piercing glare.

"So." Bitty's voice drew Manic's eye from the nightjar. "How about my little idea, hmm?"

Manic sipped his drink and leant back in his seat. "Can't wait, huh? Well, I'll be honest. Things are getting a bit stale. It might be fun to spice things up a bit."

Strobe huffed and folded his arms. "Well, you can count me out. I'm not competing with either of you."

"Why?" Bitty chuckled and winked at him. "Worried you'll lose?"

"I wouldn't lose at all." Strobe pulled out his pocket computer and distracted himself with it. "I'm just not interested in whatever games you have to offer."

Manic flashed a grin at Strobe. "If bird-brain's out, then that'll just make things easier." He laughed as the nightjar's feather's bristled around his neck. "Have you got your eye on something in particular, Bitz?"

Bitty shrugged her shoulders, still leaning her chin on one hand. "You know me. I like information. But I think a hacking race won't be all that fun. I really want to get my hands dirty."

"So you're bored as well, huh?"

Manic took a swig from his beer, right as his visor flared to life over his left eye. He jerked forward again and placed his glass clumsily on the table, reaching to switch it back off. It didn't usually behave like that. Was it malfunctioning? Or had K pulled a fast one and dumped a virus on his computer?

Just as his finger touched the button below his ear piece, he noticed the 'new message' icon blinking away. Flagged. 'High priority'. He tutted and considered dismissing it. It was probably K or some other parts dealer who wasn't happy with his trade. Something didn't work as intended, or whatever.

Bitty cocked an eyebrow. "What? Has someone dropped you a Calling Card?"

Calling Card? He scoffed and glared at the blinking icon. It was always a possibility. Oh, whatever. There was always that chance. It wasn't unknown for Phantom Thieves to target each other. He opened the message and a thoughtful 'huh' left his mouth.

'Manic the Hedgehog, I have something that might be of interest to you. Of course, it's not something I can hand you easily. It's not in my hands to give it. I know you Phantom Thieves like a challenge, so I can clue you in on a potential new target for you. If you're interested, meet me at six this evening by the little lake just outside Node City. S.'

Ominous. Manic gave it another read over, trying to gauge the legitimacy of it. Why would someone aide a Phantom Thief? It didn't sound like he wanted anything in return. Unless it was to act out a grudge. There was always the chance it was a trap, too. Someone who wanted his head on a platter. It was a little unnerving to say the least. Node was just below Pulse City. A two hour trip at most. Leaving him with a time like that… did this person know where he was? If he'd been all the way over in Rootkit Town, there'd be no way he would have made it in time. Not unless he shot off over there in hyperdrive, and that wasn't something he was willing to risk in the atmosphere. Not to mention Navi wouldn't let him. For a computer, she was rather adept at straying away from moral grey areas.

Bitty was still staring at him. Or more-so at his visor. She raised an eyebrow again and locked her blue eyes on his.

"So are you gonna take it?" she asked.

Strobe glanced up from his computer, frowning.

Manic looked from the nightjar to the fox and blinked out his visor. "So you read it? That's a crime, Bitz." He punctuated that with a grin.

The fox smirked and swished her bushy tail. "One doesn't become a pro in gaining information if they can't read reverse text on someone's visor, hon."

"Eh." Manic leant back and retrieved his glass, swirling the contents around. "I might drop in and see if this guy's for real."

"Make sure you're armed to the teeth," she said. "I know I will be."

Manic looked up at her with a start, and cold beer swilled over his glass to soak into the fur on his stomach. He quickly dabbed it away with a glove and locked eyes with the fox.

"Trying to slime your way into a potential big target for me, hey?" he said.

Bitty chuckled and twirled a lock of hair around her fingers. "It's what I do."

...

It was five in the evening when Manic arrived at the little lake. He leant back against his ship's hull, sheltered from the rain by its wide wing. It didn't stop the wind whipping up around him though, blowing his black cape about and spraying him with damp air. Ripples stretched out across the lake as the rain drops broke its surface, and on the other side a small wild squirrel huddled beneath the branches of a willow tree, nibbling away on whatever nut it had harvested.

An hour early. He'd beaten Bitty. There was no sign of her ship. The lake was silent, surrounded by manicured bushes. Not a single person occupied the benches surrounding it. No childish voices came from the playground. The clouds lit up above him as lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a deep roar of thunder. The rain came down like a sheet, and he huddled further back against his ship as water splashed up around the hem of his cape, forming muddy puddles as it saturated the earth.

Well, that 'S' guy had picked a grand old day. No ears to listen into whatever he had to tell him. Or no witnesses to the hedgehog's death… one or the other. Manic's hand went to his laser, and he un-holstered it and clicked open the back. The energy core was intact, and the lights lit up around the gun's rim when he activated it. Working. He just hoped he didn't have to use it.

Time ticked by, and there was no sign of the rain easing. The lake darkened as the clouds grew thicker, and lighting strobed through the sky in its own dramatic light-show. Then, on the other side of the lake, a different light flashed. One that stuck around for a while as a hazy yellow halo formed like a doorway. Whatever was beyond it Manic couldn't see, as a shadow blocked it out and strolled from it with all the nonchalance of someone leaving a supermarket. The figure paused to unfold an umbrella, and the halo vanished behind them, hiding away whatever it was that lay behind it. A pair of red eyes locked onto Manic. A platypus? Was this that 'S' who was meant to meet him? They made their way around the edge of the lake, strolling through the puddles with long, confident strides.

Manic kept a tight grip on his laser, but tried to hide it behind his own mock-confidence. As the platypus drew nearer, he fixed Manic in a friendly smile that still managed to come across as chilling.

"Manic the Hedgehog, I presume?" said the gentleman.

"Yeah?" Manic replied.

"I have to admit, I was a little worried you wouldn't show up." The platypus bowed, taking Manic by surprise. "My name is Doctor Starline."

"So that's what the 'S' stands for, eh?" Manic twirled his laser around his index finger and relaxed back against his ship. "What do you want with me then?"

Starline watched the laser with a cautious eye, yet still managed to maintain his smile. "I was hoping you could do something for me."

"Let me give you a little newsflash." Manic tossed his gun from one hand to the other, but the platypus didn't even flinch. "I don't work for no-one. Especially not mysterious monotremes who appear from weird-ass portholes."

Starline's smile fell as he let out a sigh. "Well, that's a pity. I think you'd quite like what I have to tell you. I know the robot trade is becoming more of a competitive route for you Phantom Thieves. This could really establish your position in your chosen field."

Manic raised an eyebrow at that, but the expression of surprise didn't come from his lips.

"Oh really?" Bitty leant over the wing of his ship, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "Now that is intriguing."

Manic flashed his canines at her. "What are you doing climin' over my ship?!"

"Hiding."

Her icy cape billowed around her as she dropped, landing in a puddle and splashing muddy water over the hedgehog's legs. He grimaced as the cold water bit through his fur and fought the urge to beat himself dry.

Bitty turned to face Starline, now somewhat startled and disgruntled as he wiped mud from the tongue of his shoes. He didn't even seem to notice the fox eyeing the amber gem fastened in the back of his left glove.

"If he won't take the job," she said, "then I will. I could use the boost."

Starline stood up straight and narrowed his crimson eyes at her. "I don't just want to hire any old Phantom Thief."

"Then you won't want Strobe, then." She waved a dismissive hand at the roof of Manic's ship.

At the nightjar's protesting rant that followed, Manic slammed his hand into his muzzle and groaned. Where did they even come from? Did they just hang onto the wings of his ship or something?

Starline closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "I really wanted to avoid prying ears. This is a sensitive subject. Maybe I am better catching you, Manic, at a better time? Or even… finding someone else to acquire this information for me?"

Manic pushed himself back from his ship, his interest officially gained. And not just his. Bitty's tail wagged as she took a step closer to the platypus.

"Information?" she said. "That's kinda my jam, Doctor. You want information, you come to me. Not Mister Robot Parts over there." She waved her hand in Manic's direction.

"Yep, that's what he does." Strobe landed beside Bitty, narrowly avoiding the puddle. "Hunts robots. Now what are we talking here? Are you planning on paying a thief to do your dirty work? Because if someone can offer more for this information than you can, you won't hear lick of it."

Starline looked at each Phantom Thief in turn, his expression turning more and more sour. "I was after the Number One Phantom Thief in Mainframe. I thought I contacted him alone. Where do you two fall into this?"

"We're the top three, Doc," said Bitty. "Ranks change. I think I currently fill the Number One status, while beaky here has been stuck at Number Three for months." She nodded her head towards Strobe.

The nightjar looked away from her and folded his arms.

"Top three?" Starline's face softened and he inclined his head on one side. "How are you at working together?"

Manic raised his hands before Bitty could answer. "We don't work together."

"Really? Because this might actually get a little dangerous. And I'm beginning to think my plan will have a better chance of unfolding if there are more of you involved."

"Phantom Thieves don't work together," Bitty explained. "It's the nature of the game. An ongoing contest. Do you even know how we work?"

"I know you are very good at what you do," said Starline. "And Manic in particular has a promising track record of getting his targets."

Manic flashed a boyish grin at Bitty, causing her muzzle to turn red. "Well, Doc. If you're looking for stealth, you ain't gonna get it from us. We're naturally loud in what we do."

"Loud is fine," said Starline. "My targets will have an eye open for stealth strategies. You're little game might give you an edge. Utilizing the element of surprise. Keeping them on their toes."

Manic nodded and gave a half-shrug. "I guess. I might be interested. What is this target of yours then? And how much are you wantin'?"

"I don't want anything," said Starline. "All I want is that information to get out there. For people to be scared by it, and bring this entire thing to a halt."

"So let me get this straight," said Manic. "You want us to get this information and sell it? That's all you want?"

"I don't just want you to sell it, dear fellow, I want you to spread it," said Starline. "Broadcast it! Blast it out over loudspeakers if you have to. Duplicate it and sell it on the streets! Do whatever it takes to get it out there."

"Hmm…" Strobe scratched the tip of his beak. "Duplicating it will lower its value."

Starline spun towards the nightjar, causing him to squeak with alarm. "There is more value to this information than mere money, sir. Believe me. This information cannot remain secret."

"Let me ask you something," said Bitty. "Given how heated you are about this, do you know exactly what this 'information' is?"

Starline's beak curled up in a smile. "I have a strong inkling."

"Then why can't you just spread it?" she asked.

"Because I need the proof," he explained. "And let's face it, ma'am, how do you think Pulse City would react if someone of my caliber were to show up in its streets?"

"You'd be walking bait," said Strobe. "Especially if you keep that fancy gem on show."

Bitty was still ogling it like a hungry wolf. She flashed Starline a playful grin and folded her arms, shifting her weight to one leg.

"I'm game," she said. "For a price."

Manic face-palmed. "This is meant to be my job, yanno!"

"Well you're slothing." She turned back to the platypus. "I wanna know what fancy doohickey allows you to walk through space like that."

"What? You mean my transport technique?" Starline cast a glance back to the other side of the lake. "My dear, that is rather simple. It's a technology I created. Something I call the Warp Topaz."

The fox's eyes snapped right back onto the jewel in his glove. "Created, eh? A girl like me could sure use somethin' like that. It would make my job a lot easier."

"Can't get the information yet has the ability to create portholes from one place to the next?" Strobe scoffed and leered at the doctor. "Seems legit."

"If you don't trust me, then walk away," said Starline. "No one is asking you to do this. I came here for Manic. You two are the third and forth wheels in this scenario."

Regardless, Strobe didn't budge. He continued leering at the platypus with one hand on his laser.

"Strobe's right," said Manic. "I get the feelin' this information is so highly guarded that you're worried about gettin' killed tryin' to get at it. So you're willin' to send someone else like a pig to slaughter, just on the off-chance they might come out of it alive."

"And given you clearly know about this," Strobe added, "if it got out, then they'd think it was you who leaked it."

"Oh they won't think it was me," said Starline. "I know how you work. Phantom Thieves leave Calling Cards. They'll know exactly who is coming for the info, and when it gets out, I'll be back in my prison cell, kitted out in my usual prison garb, while everything else is neatly stowed away safely where they can never find it. My plan, sir, is flawless."

"Flawless save for the risk of a life, provided it isn't yours?" Manic snickered, and twirled his laser. "All right. Tell me who the target is, and we'll take it from there."

"The target is simple," said Starline. "GUN's high security prison cell, on the remote island just off the coast of Rave City. It's stored on a computer in my old office, which now belongs to another doctor."

"So this is a grudge game?" Strobe scoffed.

"It's not a grudge per-se. The information at hand is far more incriminating now than it ever would have been had I still been in charge of the project. I cannot elaborate. I only know what I've heard… and seen… as I've gone about trying to prove to myself that this is happening right under Eggman's nose. If you can get to that information, and get it out there, then this will all be brought to a halt and any threat over Mainframe will be nullified."

Manic stared aghast at Starline, and he wasn't alone. It sounded more like an elaborate rescue mission where Mainframe was the victim. Taking out the killer before they even had a chance to strike.

"Sounds pretty extreme," said Manic.

"Yeah, how dire is this situation?" asked Strobe.

"It isn't dire right now," said Starline. "But it will be if this project is allowed to continue, believe me."

"Can you at least give us some clue?" asked Manic. "I mean, we can't look for somethin' if we don't know what it is, can we?"

"Fine," said Starline. "I can give you one clue. It concerns that alien jackal that landed here when Eggman did."

"Huh." The three Phantom Thieves exchanged glances.

"And you can't leak it because you're too important?" Manic asked.

"I can't leak it because they'll know it was me," Starline explained. "They already suspect something. When I get back, I have to lay low for a while until their targets are off my back."

"All right, I get it," said Manic. "I'll take the job, Starline."

"Doctor Starline," the platypus emphasized.

"I'll take it, too, handsome." Bitty placed a hand on her hip and fluttered her lashes at Starline. "Provided you pay me."

Starline gave her an amused look and placed a finger to his bill. "How much are you asking?"

She nodded at his glove. "That gem. The ability to go anywhere you want in the blink of an eye? A girl like me could sure use something like that. It would make my job a ton easier."

"Oh, I bet it would." Starline grinned and tugged off his glove. "I can't resist the request of a lovely girl like you. How about I leave it with you as insurance?"

"You're kiddin'?" Bitty's jaw went slack. "How does it work?"

"Place your hand on it like so, then picture where you want to go." A golden halo appeared behind Starline, cutting through reality. On the other side was the sunbaked Rootkit Desert. He let out a dry chuckle and shrugged. "A little ditty I made up for it. It's linked wirelessly to the Chaos Network. So long as you can access it mentally, then it's pretty easy."

"Oh yeah, my visor's all wired up, doc." Bitty took the glove with a squeal, bouncing on her toes.

Starline stepped backwards into the wormhole and immediately lowered his umbrella, shaking the droplets off it onto the baking sand. "I trust I have left this job in good hands?

"The best." Manic flashed him a grin.

Starline bowed and the hazy yellow ring closed up behind him.

Bitty looked from the spot he'd vanished to the glove in her grasp, and her features twisted with suspicion. She placed a hand over it and her tongue poked out between her lips. Then her brow furrowed and she stared at the glove as though it had offended her.

"This is a fake, isn't it?" she said.

"What do you think?" said Strobe. "'Think about where you want to go'? 'Wirelessly linked to the Chaos Network provided you can access it mentally'? Come on, Bitty. He's pulling your leg."

Manic doubled over with laughter. "And you fell for it!"

Bitty's cheeks flushed and she stuffed the glove into her belt pouch. "Oh, I am so gonna get him back for this."

Strobe rolled his eyes. "And you're meant to be the smart one?"

Bitty jabbed a finger into his chest. "Shut up, or you're walking back to Pulse City."

...

**A/N - Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	20. ML Chapter 2

**A/N - A heads up that there might not be an update next weekend, as my husband is having surgery this week and I might not get time. If I manage to proof read the next chapter before Saturday, I can try and save it as a draft and just hit publish, to save me some time come Saturday. Either way, I wanted to keep you posted. Prayers for a successful operation and a speedy recovery are appreciated! =D**

**Also, if the chapter numbers in the drop down are confusing, please let me know and I'll try to fix them.**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Two

Gadget had not been having a good day. First, his coffee machine had failed to start, and the hefty kick he'd given it had only sent it tumbling to the floor into a heap of spare parts. Then his interrogation of Prisoner I45724 had taken a very nasty turn. The wretched jackal hadn't taken kindly to being called a number. He'd screamed 'Infinite!' right down Gadget's ear, promptly before fastening his sharp teeth around it, thus sending Gadget to the infirmary to have it re-attached.

The disgruntled wolf had finally returned to his office to get started on his report at ten pm, fresh mug of coffee in hand, when he saw it. Three cards on his desk. One sported a blue heart, another a yellow lightning bolt against a midnight-blue backdrop, and the third a logo of a hedgehog's head with long green quills arcing around it.

Gadget rubbed at the tender scar behind his ear with his coffee-warmed fingers as he took them in, not quite believing they were there. They were just some figment of his addled mind. Too many pain killers, that's all it was. But no, they were very real.

He cautiously picked up the one with the hedgehog logo and flipped it over.

'Tomorrow night, around midnight, I'm gonna take all information on Starline's old project! -Kaitou M'.

Gadget's lip curled, flashing his canines. How brazen! Phantom Thieves didn't often target GUN, especially given all locations were armed to the teeth with EggTech. He flipped the other one with the blue heart. The heart motif was sprayed over the other side in an almost endearing fashion, had it not been from some insidious thief.

'Tomorrow midnight, I'll be taking all information regarding GUN's secret project! - Bitz'.

Gadget's spine bristled as he flipped over the last one, suspecting all too well that it would be a target for the exact same thing.

'Midnight tomorrow, I'll be taking your top-secret information! You know the drill! -Kaitou Nightjar'. It was even punctuated with a winking smiley.

Gadget clutched his mug of coffee tightly, hands trembling so badly the steaming liquid sloshed over his desk and decorated the Calling Cards with creamy brown patches. He let out a mighty roar, sending his mug bouncing off his closed office door. Then he swiped the cards, and all his paperwork, from his desk with one arm.

He slumped into his chair and massaged his temples, taking deep steadying breaths. Three Phantom Thieves. Three. All after the same thing. What had happened? How did they even know about this? Had they hacked into his files? Hacking into GUN files was punishable by death. Surely a thief wouldn't be that desperate to earn a quick credit?

Three…

He slowly retrieved the cards and flipped through them, taking in their aliases. He'd heard of all three of them. Notorious criminals who often competed against each other for the number one slot. He'd seen those underground websites. 'Phantom Thief' wasn't so much a job as it was a sport. A way to compete with each other and with Mainframe's wealthy. Phantom Thieves claimed to get away with their criminal acts by 'giving their target a fighting chance'. They'd leave a card stating what they were after and when, and if their target failed to fend them off, then more fool them. If they did, the Phantom Thief would usually commend them before vanishing off into the night. Often with the police in tow if their target had bothered to contact them. Many just used their EggTech, or awaited the thieves with some level of excitement as they tried to outwit them. Gadget thought the latter were fools.

So what was it then? Had someone leaked his work, or were these three thieves merely challenging themselves with some suicidal competition to see who could raid a high security cell first? He'd have to run a check on all his employees and prisoners. Make sure no one had spilled. Surely none of his employees would be that stupid? They'd be risking not only their own lives, but those of their family too. As for the prisoners… well no one would miss those.

His mind wandered to the jackal and he sat back in his seat, flicking idly through the Calling Cards. Could Infinite have somehow keyed the Phantom Thieves? No… no, that wasn't possible. His powers were suppressed by his detainment collar. Then who was it? One of the cards caught Gadget's eye and he stiffened, eyes narrowing as anger welled up inside him.

'…I'm gonna take all information on Starline's old project!'

"Starline?" Gadget growled as he rose to his feet. "That wretched scientist!"

He stomped from his office, creasing the Calling Cards in his hand. He barely saw the corridor, too focused on winding through it to reach the high security cells. He came to a stop outside one of them and peered through the flickering forcefield. Starline lay on his back on the narrow bed, eyes closed and twitching in his sleep.

"Starline!" Gadget barked.

The platypus's eyes snapped open and he sat upright, rubbing at them with a bare hand. If he had any idea why Gadget was there he didn't show it. Instead he just inclined his head on one one side and gave him a quizzical quirk of the eyebrow.

"Gadget? To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Gadget fanned out the Calling Cards, making sure the text faced his suspect. Starline squinted at them then reached under his bed to retrieve his glasses. Every movement he made was slow, as if he wanted to test the wolf's patience. But Gadget didn't let his agitation show. He took a few quiet, deep breaths while he waited for the platypus to approach the forcefield.

Starline leant as close as he dared, beak moving to the words as he read over the cards. Then he stood back to meet Gadget's glare and shrugged.

"So you have some thieves after my research?" he said.

Gadget lowered the cards to his side and narrowed his eyes. "How do they know about it?"

Starline shrugged again. "How should I know? Maybe you have a mole?"

"'Mole' is a fitting term for someone who moves through holes," Gadget hissed through his teeth. "Like you and your wacky portholes!"

Starline let out a small gasp and he jabbed a thumb into his chest. "You think this is my doing? How? You confiscated my Warp Topaz!"

"Did I? Or have you got it hidden on you somewhere?" Gadget's eyes trailed over Starline's body, then landed back on his face. "I'd believe you if you could tell me how to get it to work!"

"I told you it's genetically coded to my DNA." Starline raised his hands and sighed. "Nothing I can do there unless you let me out to show you. But alas, you don't trust me enough."

"Of course I don't trust you. I've never trusted you! I stand by my belief you are an Egg Elite. All you want to do is drive this project towards serving Eggman and not Mainframe!"

A wide smile spread across Starline's beak and he leant towards him. Small sparks danced across the forcefield as his breath spread over it.

"And what about you?" he crooned. "Are you serving Mainframe, or your own desires?"

Gadget's breathing came out in erratic bursts and he crumpled the cards in his fist. "You've spent so long working with that maniac jackal you're starting to sound like him."

Gadget got nothing more than a smirk in return.

"I was right when I said you weren't fit to continue this project," Gadget went on. "You belong in that cell. I'll have someone over within the hour to check everything. If you're hiding the real Warp Topaz, then we'll find it."

Starline let out an exasperated sigh. "You have it! But if you need to waste your soldiers' time to put your mind at ease, send them my way."

Gadget turned from the cell, marching quickly back towards his office.

"Maybe you can send the same soldiers you always do?" Starline's voice called after him. "Then we can have a happy reunion and discuss the last seven times you've done it this past year alone!"

Gadget clenched his jaw tight and examined the cards, smoothing them out so he could read the text again more clearly. Not that he needed to. They were burnt into his mind like glowing embers.

He'd get to the bottom of this. Whoever leaked it was going to pay dearly.

A light sparked in his mind and he faltered in the doorway to his office. Of course. Family. The Phantom Thieves had to have family. Maybe there was a link…

He rushed to his desk, slamming his door behind him. Then he pulled up the directory of GUN officers under his authority. Each one listed their closest family, so any species from mixed backgrounds wouldn't fall by the wayside. Failing that, he'd trace the Phantom Thieves themselves.

A low laugh left his throat and he leant back in his seat, twirling a pen between his fingers as he sought out each soldier by species. Fox, nightjar, hedgehog… Then he jotted them down on his pad. Even if it would take him all night, he was going to get to the bottom of it.

...

Sonic smoothed out his jacket as he faced Gadget's door, unsure whether or not to enter. The wolf had sounded strange on the phone, to say the least. He wouldn't feel quite so agitated if he'd also wanted to see Tails, but his request had been for Sonic to come alone.

He swallowed back his anxiety and gave the door a polite knock.

"Enter."

A quick reply. Any other situation, and Sonic would have been impressed.

He stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Gadget didn't even look up from his computer. He motioned for Sonic to pull up a seat, and the hedgehog complied, taking the lone seat directly opposite him.

A long silence passed between them, broken only by the gentle static buzz of Gadget's fingers tapping at his computer's holographic keyboard. Sonic twitched his knee irritably, forcing himself to not start tapping his foot on the floor. It took every ounce of his willpower to not stand and start pacing.

Finally, Gadget looked up and fixed his amber eyes on Sonic's. The expression on his face sent the hedgehog's heart plummeting into his gut.

"It pains me to have to call you here on such dire terms," said Gadget.

Sonic's muzzle twisted in a grimace and he sank back into his seat. "I worried it might be bad news. What is it?"

"Oh, just a simple Mainframer Resources matter."

Sonic cocked an eyebrow at that, then waved a hand at the door. "Then why aren't I talking to them?"

"Because I'm your boss, and after hearing this, they'd send you my way anyway." Gadget's face hardened and he linked his fingers together. "Why did you fail to mention you were directly related to a criminal in your application?"

Sonic's jaw went slack. "What? I'm not-"

"Manic?"

"Manic?!" Sonic lowered his head to his hand and pinched his muzzle. "Seriously, I've not heard from him in years. We parted ways well back in high school. I didn't know he was a criminal. I wasn't even sure he was still alive!"

"Well he is alive." Gadget nudged a crumpled piece of card across the desk. "And he left me this."

Sonic took it and smoothed it out. A green logo of a hedgehog's head stood out amongst a black background. He flipped it over and his heart froze in his chest. He looked back up at the wolf, speechless.

Gadget shrugged and toyed with his scarred ear. "It looks like your brother has taken on the life of a Phantom Thief."

"I've heard of Kaitou M," said Sonic. "But I had no idea it was Manic."

Gadget raised an eyebrow, almost mockingly. His disbelief was as clear as day.

"I'm telling the truth!" Sonic slammed his hands on the desk and rose from his seat. "Doc, you have to believe me!"

"Sit. Back. Down."

Sonic slumped back into his seat, clenching his teeth together so hard it hurt.

"All it took was a simple search to find Kaitou M's real name," said Gadget. "The other Phantom Thieves don't use his alias."

"I don't delve into that part of the Chaos Network," said Sonic.

"Well I'm afraid the evidence is against you here." Gadget spread all three cards out before Sonic, each one sporting the logo of a different Phantom Thief. "Out of all three of this miscreants, you are the only one in my employ who is related to one. The only one who, as far as I know, has any contact with them. And somehow, they've gotten wind of my project. No one outside of my branch of GUN should know about this. The frostwalls keep out hackers efficiently and are upgraded twice a day to stay on top of them. And as for everyone who works here, well! I think it's safe to say they wouldn't dare breathe a word of this given the consequences?"

Sonic screwed his eyes shut and dug his fingers into his knees. "Please… I can assure you it's not me who's keyed him, or any of them, into this. Besides, can't you just relocate the-"

Gadget struck the desk with a fist, causing the hedgehog to jump. "There's no time! I'm not going to let some little thieves inconvenience me like this! Moving it all to another secure location would only set my project back!"

"Then…" Sonic lifted his hands in defeat. "Then let me stop him. He's arriving tonight, right? Tails and I can wait here and stop him and the others. We'll make sure your plans won't be leaked to Mainframe, okay? Just please… don't hurt my family over this."

"Oh good grief, Sonic, I'm not a monster," said Gadget. "I need solid evidence before I have someone assassinated." He picked up Manic's Calling Card and chuckled. "And this is pretty solid evidence. But… I won't act on anything just yet. So long as you stop my plans getting out there, and turn this vermin into me. Dead or alive, I don't mind which."

"What about the other two?"

Gadget shrugged. "They're nothing to me. You're not related to either of them. I think ending the life of one of their friends will be enough to keep them off my tail. They'll learn their lesson, and so will you."

Sonic's spines bristled and he straightened. "Seriously, I haven't told him anything!"

Gadget waved a hand and turned back to his computer. "Dismissed."

"Doc, please-"

"I said dismissed!"

Sonic let out a small sigh and pushed himself from his seat. He paused by the door, keeping his hand on the handle, and glanced back over his shoulder. Gadget's left ear was trained on him, but he didn't look up from his work. Words rested on the tip of Sonic's tongue. Ones he desperately wished he could say, but every one of them would likely result in a bullet to his head. So he tugged the door open and slipped out into the hallway.

A couple of barks echoed down them and he looked up to see T-Pup bounding towards him with Tails in tow. The robot dog stopped abruptly with one paw in the air, its happy tongue retracting back into its mouth. It inclined its head on one side, taking in Sonic's face with its wide eyes, and its wagging tail came to a halt. It approached him slowly, and Sonic dropped into a squat to greet the friendly robot. Tails looked between the two before noting Gadget's closed door, and adjusted his gun strap over his chest.

"I'm going to guess something has happened?" he said.

"You could say that." Sonic stood again and moved from the door, steering Tails alongside him. "I've been given a pretty tough mission."

Tails eye swiveled towards him, prompting him to elaborate.

"Do you remember Manic?" Sonic asked him.

"Yes, he went AWOL."

"Well, not anymore." Sonic took a deep breath and stopped, glanced up and down the hallway for any sign of prying ears. Empty. "Brace yourself, bud."

T-Pup stood like a sentinel beside them, turning its head left and right while its tongue hung out, panting quietly.

Sonic relayed Gadget's story to Tails, not missing a beat. The fox nodded occasionally, but not a single hint of fear or disgust or surprise crossed his face. He remained as unreadable as ever.

When Sonic finished, he slumped against the wall beside his friend and ran a hand down his muzzle. "What am I gonna do?"

"Do exactly what you have to," said Tails. "Hunt him down and stop him."

"He's my brother, Tails."

T-Pup whimpered at his side and sat down, staring up at him with dim eyes.

"He's not been much of a brother, though, has he?" said Tails. "You've not even heard from him in the past ten years."

"I honestly thought he was dead," said Sonic. "I searched news sites. Put out messages for anyone who might have seen him. I never once thought to check the Phantom Thief network."

"Neither did I," said Tails. "He'd never shown any interest in it."

"You searched too?" Sonic asked.

"Of course." Tails expression remained blank and he shrugged. "I kept searching long after you stopped. I know how it affected you."

T-Pup nudged Sonic's leg with its nose, and Sonic gave it a warm smile.

"So you'll help me?" he asked Tails.

Tails gave a single nod. "We will remain here long after the majority of the soldiers have left, and wait out the Phantom Thieves. Not one of them will leave here alive."

Sonic closed his eyes and shuddered. "Thanks for the support, bud, but that's not exactly what I wanted to hear. I really wanna do this without killing anyone."

Tails turned his head towards him. "You know that's not possible. If you turn Manic over to GUN alive, they'll kill him, and it will be a lot less pleasant than if we did it ourselves."

"I'm hoping it won't come to that. We'll think of something."

"It would have to be a flawless 'something'," said Tails. "Because either way, someone is going to die. And if not Manic, then I think you know full well who GUN will target."

Sonic grimaced and dug his fingers into his arms. He knew it was true, but he couldn't let anyone die.

"Have you any ideas?" he asked. "You're the genius."

"I've run the situation over in my head several times already. The outcome is never desirable. The only option with the least disastrous outcome is to take out Manic ourselves."

"Then keep thinking," said Sonic. "We have until tonight to come up with a solution, and I'm not sure we can just wing it this time."

...

Midnight.

Manic's ship circled over the remote island as he peered down at it from his bridge's window. The high security cell took up most of the space on the island. The only areas it didn't fill were the cliffs and the beach. Unless it extended into the cliffs themselves, giving prisoners a nice clear view of the ocean they'd never be allowed to step foot in.

They'd agreed on a location to land. A little outside the main courtyard. There'd be less danger that way. Not as close as he'd liked to land. Ordinarily he'd have gone straight for the roof and found a trusty vent to slip into. Somewhere sneaky to launch his trademark Phantom Thief trickery. Oh well.

The green hedgehog grabbed his bag and dashed towards the exit hatch. In a flash, his feet touched soft grass. On either side of him rose the tall, iron fences, topped with deadly skewers.

"Took your time." Bitty stood a few feet away with her arms crossed, giving Manic a playful smile.

"And you're taking a risk idly standing around," said Manic.

"Strobe took out the external cameras," she said. "Besides, we agreed we'd go into this together. Increase our odds. Although I wouldn't be surprised if teamwork was alien to you?"

"Never needed a team my whole life. Now where's Beaky?"

"Scouting the perimeter," said Bitty. "We don't wanna walk into the open arms of a Hunter Scout now, do we?"

"I doubt that'll be a problem. They'll keep them 'bots on reserve to track escapees, not stop Phantom Thieves."

Bitty tutted. "You'll be surprised."

Manic gave her a skeptical look. "You sound like you've raided GUN buildings before."

"Only small ones."

The fox adjusted her bag and gave Manic a nod. "Strobe's given us the all-clear. Follow me." She made to move away, but when Manic didn't follow she fired a frown over her shoulder. "C'mon. It's this way. Yeesh, stop being so stubborn."

Manic rolled his eyes and tucked his hands behind his head before following reluctantly after the fox. He cast a glance up at the dark sky, but all that winked down at him were the stars. No small drones drifting overhead. Unless they were mixed in with the stars in a bid to snipe unsuspecting thieves? Maybe he could shoot one down? Make a quick credit selling its footage and machine parts?

He quickly shrugged that thought off and trotted to catch up with Bitty before she vanished beyond an overgrown geranium.

Strobe stood by one of the gates, fussing with the code panel beside it. He had his computer out, wired up to his visor as he struggled to crack the code.

Manic stood over his shoulder, causing the bird's feathers to bristle. "Coulda flown in closer and saved us the hassle, but no. Someone wanted to play it safe."

Strobe sneered at him, and as if to mock the hedgehog the lock popped. A grin spread across the nightjar's beak and he unhooked his computer to tuck it back into his pouch. He pushed the gate open and stood aside, bowing with a sarcastic flourish.

"After you!" he crooned.

Manic stuck his tongue out at Strobe then strolled through the gate right into the main courtyard. The sky was still clear. Too clear. It made the prison building look much more intimidating than it would have if it were surrounded by EggTech robots and SWAT soldiers.

So just to be safe he pulled out his laser.

His rivals joined his side, both clutching their own weapons - Bitty her own elemental-themed gun and Strobe a rod that Manic knew all too well contained enough voltage to stun a full-grown hedgehog. Manic brought up his visor and peered at the map overlay, conveniently sourced from the Phantom Thief Underground Network.

"It might be best to split up," he said. "Come in at the office from different angles."

"I already suggested that," Strobe scoffed.

"Well, now I am," said Manic. "I'll go in from that vent near the roof. Bitty, you take the east wing-"

"Why do I get the east wing?" Bitty whined.

Manic waved his arm at the courtyard. "Is now the right time to be arguing about this?"

Bitty poked out her bottom lip in a childish pout. "I just want to do things my own way. I'm good at my own way."

"Your feminine wiles won't work on me," Manic hissed.

She tilted her head on one side, causing Strobe to face-palm.

Manic groaned and waved her off. "Fine. But I'm taking that vent."

He left the other two thieves to their own devices, making a bee-line for the wall. He tugged out his grappling hook and fired. It latched on to the window sill right below the air vent. In a few jumps he had the ledge in his grip and stopped to glance in through the window. Dark. But he thought he saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the far corner. Probably a drone stationed to guard that room. Whatever it was, his overlay made it clear it wasn't Starline's old office. The stationed robot was likely a red herring to lure them in.

He kicked off from the ledge and grabbed the vent, tugging the grate clean away. He wriggled inside and set it back in place before rolling along the vent towards his target destination.

The vent forked off ahead of him, and he took the right one, ending at another grate. He peered through, noting the two cameras lurking against the walls. Their little black lenses glinting while a red light flickered above them. Of course. Strobe had only taken out the external cameras. With his chameleon trickery he wouldn't be bothered by them. Manic tugged out his trusty gun and fired twice, covering both cameras with a sticky green goo. They twitched as they tried to rotate towards him, while the substance hardened like clay.

Heavy, mechanical footsteps echoed through the corridor on the other side. Great. He'd caught someone's attention. Manic watched the looming shadow of an Egg Obliterator bouncing up and down the wall. Not a robot he'd had much experience hunting. But 'not much' didn't mean 'none at all'.

Grade 3. Programmed to kill, not detain.

The Obliterator's red eyes scanned left and right while its machine gun rested on its left arm. The right hand held the gun ready to fire if it needed to. Manic was going to make sure it didn't need to.

He toyed with the handle of the steel cleaver in his pouch, waiting for the exact moment to strike. Just a few more steps. Manic grinned and popped the grate free, leaping clean from the vent. The robot's head spun towards it, red eyes casting dancing spots over the clean, tiled walls. Manic dropped before it could get a proper aim, landing on its head. He jammed the steel cleaver's blade into the base of its neck, severing the main wires that ran up to its 'brain'. The robot crumpled, dropping its machine gun and sending a spray of bullets across the corridor. Manic squeaked and ducked behind its prone form as the bullets ricocheted off the tiles.

Then silence.

The hedgehog rose to his feet and dusted down his torso. "I never expect the machine gun."

"Clearly."

Strobe strolled into the corridor, or what Manic could see of him at least. The nightjar was decked out in a ninja-grade cloak that changed colour and pattern to match the wearer's surroundings, or make them look like something - or someone - else entirely. But his green eyes and beak were left exposed where he'd pulled the hood back slightly.

"You're not about to start looting it are you?" Strobe asked. "Because we're on a tight time-frame here."

"Yeah, yeah. You're just jealous because you couldn't take it down if you tried." Manic smirked at the enraged glint under Strobe's hood. "Where's Bitz up to?"

Strobe turned so sharply his cloak billowed behind him. "Probably already there knowing her."

"Oh great. I'm not lettin' her have this win." Manic took off past the nightjar, his boots echoing down the corridor.

"Oi!" Strobe hissed as he rushed to keep up. "We're meant to be working together, right? So calm down and keep the place clear of robots!"

"I don't care! If she beats me she'll hold this over me for years!" He fired a playful jeer at his rival. "And if you beat me, well… I may as well toss myself off the tallest buildin' in Mainframe."

A sharp pain shot through his tail and he let out a shrill 'yeow!' Strobe zipped past him, flashing a grin over his invisible shoulder before his entire form vanished before Manic's eyes. The hedgehog shook his head and pushed himself to catch up.

He skidded to a halt as the corridor forked off in three directions. A quick check of his visor told him he was close to the office. But the telltale marching of feet on his right was a clear giveaway to more EggTech guarding the prison. It almost drowned out the soft snores coming from the darkened cells surrounding him. The dim light of his visor cast a green haze over the forcefield closest to him as he searched for another way past the robots.

There. Another vent. And going off the map, it would cut off the next corridor nicely, landing him right beside Starline's old office.

The hedgehog grinned to himself as adrenaline pumped through his veins. If he was fast enough he'd beat his two rivals to the prize. He fired his grappling hook, tugging the vent free. A grunt came from the cell beside him, but he didn't get a look at the criminal it contained. In a flash he was inside the vent, rolling along its surface. But not for long. The wheels of a cleaning robot squeaked away inside, bringing him to a reluctant halt. Even the cleaning drones were armed with something to strike unsuspecting thieves. Manic crouched low until it revealed itself in the corridor. A small, round machine with a black eye held up on a stalk. It flashed with alarm when it spotted the hedgehog, and a red light blinked away on the front of its body. With nowhere to run but back the way he'd come, Manic wasn't left with much choice but to either be quick, or take a hit head on.

He lashed out with his steel cleaver, slicing through the robot's hide like butter. But it didn't stop the laser. Manic hissed as it seared his left arm, burning away his thin fur and blistering his skin. That would make rolling a lot more difficult.

He tucked his wounded arm in as close to his body as he could and continued rolling his way through the air vent. The robot's small parts crunched beneath his quills, and he heard the laser fire again. He muttered under his breath at his carelessness, and followed the bend around towards Starline's office.

The grate exploded away from him and Manic perched in the opening. A long whistle left his lips.

"Brought me straight into it, eh?" He chuckled. "And would you look at that! I beat both them guys."

A small camera rotated in the far left corner of the room, fixing its black lens on the hedgehog. He whipped out his goo gun and fired a glob straight at it, covering the lens and locking the camera in place.

With that out of the way, he dropped onto the tiled floor between the desk and a severely dented filing cabinet. Either someone had anger issues, or they were just extremely careless.

Manic turned to the holo-computer and flicked it on, bringing up its holoscreen.

"Let's get this show on the road then, eh?"

He fell into the chair and tugged a small black disk from his pouch. His heart sank when the screen brought up the request for a password. He muttered under his breath. He was going to have to do this the hard way. He tugged out a wire from his pouch to hook up his visor to the computer. A spray of text appeared on his overlay, and he sat back to tap at the holographic keyboard. A few minutes later and he was circumventing the password, greeted, as he expected to be, by an army of small-fry frostwalls.

A typical strategy big companies put in place to wear out the hacker before their 'big guns' took over. Fortunately Manic was prepared for the occasion. His handy supply of melters blew back the small frostwalls like flies to a fly swatter. It didn't mean some of them didn't bite, however.

Once the last one had crumbled away, Manic found himself in the computer's system. His eyes widened and he let out a small 'huh!' He'd expected more of a fight than that. Oh well. It would be best to remain wired up anyway, just in case another one leapt out at him.

He popped the disk into the computer and began searching for the prize information. Pleasantly, each folder was organized clearly with a care that could be labeled 'obsessive'. Manic found himself scrolling past folders for soldier profiles and cleaning rotas until he finally landed on one marked 'projects'. He brought that one open, finding nothing set in place to stop him. It made him wonder if he was on the right track.

Detainment; Effects of Solitary Confinement; FBI Reports; Prisoner Rehabilitation Project… Nothing leapt out at him at all. He was really beginning to wish Starline had been more clear about what information he needed. Nothing suggested anything about the jackal. Would Manic really have to read through all this to find whatever projects the crazy platypus had been working on?

His finger faltered as something caught his eye, and he scrolled back up quickly. A folder titled 'Project Wreckingball'? He tugged at his lip with his finger. Could that be it? He tapped on it, and a low groan left his throat.

A massive frostwall army. If it wasn't it, then he was going to end up pretty drained of his hacking resources.

The fleet was nothing more than a horde of small goblins designed to keep him at bay. His melters made short work of them, but more leapt in to replace them, biting away with their icy attacks. A phenomenal noise came from the other side of the door and Manic cursed as he fired a glance towards it. He knew that noise. A pulsing scream that was strong enough to shatter glass and blow a crowd of people back a few feet. It was what Strobe called his 'Scream of the Nightjar'. Manic grimaced as shouts of retaliation came from whoever the bird was fighting. Now was not the time to deal with soldiers or his rivals.

The last of the horde melted away as Strobe's feathery butt reversed into the room, his fighting stick swiping someone back into the corridor in an explosion of sparks. Bitty wasn't far behind him, firing a few stray gas bullets behind her. A smoke screen of noxious perfumes designed to disorientate or intoxicate, depending on what mood she was in.

Manic's head felt like he'd been standing in a freezing shower. He rubbed at his temple and turned his attention back to the file. But it was kept out of view by a huge frostwall barrier. He groaned and slumped further into the seat. He knew that one. GUN loved it. It was named Orion. None of his melters could deal with that. He just had to hope it hadn't been updated beyond the special keys in his arsenal to disable it.

"Oh man." Bitty leant on the back of his seat and trailed her fingers over his quills. Her voice was wavering oddly, but he chose to ignore it. "You look like you've got a blizzard brewing in your head. What's goin' on in there?"

Manic swatted her hand away and leant towards the screen. "Shut up and let me work."

He punched in the first key slowly, making sure each number and letter was accurate. A long, complicated thing he wished he never had to use. Memorizing keys was not his strong suit. With a lot of apprehension, he struck the enter key. Orion recoiled slightly, its surface rippling. A grin spread across Manic's face and a weight lifted off his chest. A hit! It hadn't been upgraded yet.

"Erm, Bitz?" Strobe said from beside the door. "I don't think your gases are gonna hold them soldiers off for long."

"Drat." Bitty pushed herself back from Manic's seat. "I'm running low. How long is this gonna take, Manic?"

Manic said nothing, trying to tune out the fox so he could get the next key right. Another hit. Orion weakened some more, but not before blowing a flurry of disorienting frosty static into his head. He visibly cringed, and Bitty reached for her gun, turning her attention back to the door. Muzzle stiff with worry. Tail bristling. He'd didn't think he'd ever seen her like that.

Manic lowered his hand as he realized he'd been rubbing at his temple. Just one more key. One more and Orion would be melted away, and hopefully he'd be able to get at those files.

Barking echoed down the corridor akin to a small terrier. Strobe looked from the door to the hedgehog.

"Any time now, Manic," he hissed.

"I'm almost in!" Manic snapped. "Just keep them at bay or somethin'!"

The barking grew louder and Strobe rushed towards him, whipping off his cloak. He draped it over Manic, hiding the hedgehog in a warm, dark shroud. The glare from the holoscreen bit at his eyes and he blinked a couple of times to clear away the haze. As much as he appreciated the nightjar's efforts, he hoped the interruption wouldn't cost him.

His hands tapped over the keys, throwing out the final part of the code. Orion blew back from him, but not without leaving behind a freezing aftermath. Wretched coding. Manic took in a sharp breath and screwed his eyes shut. His head throbbed, but the frostwall was gone. And there were no more monsters to greet him.

He let out a sigh and opened the file. There it was. Everything on Project Wreckingball. And lo and behold, it actually was about that jackal. Manic chuckled and transfered it to his memory disk. A direct transfer into a new folder. There would be no trace of it on the little office computer when he was done. His fingers tapped away at the keys with a jaunty beat as he named it 'Top Secret Files', then he tugged the disk free and shut off the computer. He leapt up with a flourish, whipping away Strobe's cloak.

"All right! I've got it. Let's beat-"

The door almost flew off its hinges, and Bitty leapt back with a squeak. Two solders burst into the room, led by a small mechanical dog.

Manic's eyes widened as they met the green gaze of a blue hedgehog.

"Whoa!" said Manic. "Wasn't expectin' to see you!"

He tugged the cloak back over his head and bolted for the door, leaping past his two rivals.

"Hey!" Bitty shouted as she fired her perfume gun. "We're suppose to be working together, you idiot!"

Tails wafted at the gas and squinted after the retreating Phantom Thieves. "I can see him."

The dog rushed from the room, barking wildly. Its tinny footsteps grew closer and closer to Manic. The cloak snagged back from his head and he glanced back to see the dog shaking it like rag-doll. Then it abandoned it to give chase.

Strobe and Bitty rushed behind it, tailed by the two soldiers. The Phantom Thieves weaved back and forth, throwing off their aim. Bullets skimmed them, bouncing off the tiles and leaving ugly cracks.

"Oh man!" Manic squeaked. "He's actually tryin' to shoot me!"

He turned sharply around a bend, running blindly down the corridors. He brought up the map again and flinched when he realized he was heading the wrong way. It was too late to turn back now. Heavy footsteps echoed ahead of him as another Egg Obliterator patrolled the cells.

A grate caught Manic's eye and he fired his grappling hook without a second thought. In a flash he vanished inside, bolting down the narrow tunnel. But not before swatting a cleaning drone clean of the vent to shatter onto the floor.

The cries of his rivals faded into the distance as he rolled away from them, back towards his waiting ship.

...

**A/N - Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	21. ML Chapter 3

**A/N - Woo! I've managed to update today! Thank you for your prayers! The surgery went well, now it's riding out the recovery period. Although we now both appear to have colds...**

**There may be a hiatus for a week or so while I get the artwork done for the next parts of this story - The chapter headers, and the promotional art for Tumblr and the Sonic Amino. Hopefully I can get it done this week, but it might take a while as I really don't want to rush it. Book 2 is pretty immense and I have a huge idea for the artwork for that. The next piece is a one-shot that leads into it, so all being well there won't be a delay on that chapter. I'm rambling... also my laptop's T key seems to be playing up. Urgh.**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Three

Sonic stared down at the wreckage below the vent. T-Pup sniffed at it curiously, nudging the prone form of a cleaning drone. Its body lay shattered over the bent grate. Tails peered up at the vent and inclined his head on one side. Unfazed in the slightest at Frosty's sudden appearance. It made Sonic's heart break. He had no idea where the fox and her accomplice had vanished to. He'd lost track of them the second the nightjar retrieved his cloak. But Gadget didn't care about them. Sonic's priority target was Manic.

"The evidence is clear he's gone that way," said Tails.

"I know." Sonic rubbed the back of his quills and sighed. "I could go after him, but I'd need to move fast. The problem is, I might damage the air vent."

"No need," said Tails.

"Seriously? We're gonna lose him!"

"How fast can Manic move?" Tails pulled out his computer and crouched over the remains of the robot.

"He was never all that fast," said Sonic. "Any hedgehog can curl into a ball, but it took him years of practice to learn to move like that. Unlike me who could do it from the get-go. Unfortunately he wasn't born with any special skills to speak of. It made him pretty bitter at times."

"So he can roll? That makes things easier." Tails rose up, keeping his blank eyes on his pocket computer. "A clumsy hedgehog makes for an easy target."

Sonic leant over his shoulder. Hundreds of red dots filled what appeared to be a blueprint map of the prison they stood in.

"What are those?" he asked.

"The cleaning drones," said Tails. "And that one…" he jabbed a finger at a blinking dot well out of the prison's boundaries, "is your brother."

Sonic took the device, watching the dot as it moved its way over the edge of the coast. "How on earth…?"

"My guess is that the clumsy hedgehog rolled right over the remains of a cleaning drone, and its tracking chip got stuck in his quills."

"Along a whole host of other things," said Sonic. "How long do you reckon we have until he loses it?"

Tails shrugged. "Until his next shower?"

"Then we've got time." Sonic handed the computer back to Tails. "Come on, gang. We've gotta tail him before it's too late!"

"We'll take the Tornado," said Tails. "It will be faster than trying to work out a GUN ship."

"Fantastic idea!"

Sonic zipped down the corridor with Tails in tow, his twin tails twisting like a propeller as he strove to keep up. T-Pup hovered beside him, panting merrily.

"Man, I can't believe he wasn't happy to see me," said Sonic.

"It was hardly the best situation for a reunion," said Tails. "Would you be happy to see you if you were in his shoes?"

"I wouldn't fit in his shoes!" Sonic called over his shoulder. "They're much too small!"

"This is not the time for jokes."

"I wasn't joking!"

The group stopped beside the garage, and Sonic tapped his foot as he waited for Tails to open it. The familiar nose of the Tornado greeted them, its pristine hull glinting in the florescent floodlights. T-Pup sat wagging its tail as it stared up at its handler's much-loved plane.

"We should catch up to him in no time with this," said Tails. "Hop in."

Sonic clambered aboard, taking the seat behind Tails. T-Pup sat beside its handler, peering at the walls while its tongue hung out of its mouth. The low rumble of the engine filled the garage and the Tornado's propeller began to spin. As the small plane edged out of the garage, Sonic thought back over that night's events. The second they'd spotted the white fox and her accomplice, T-Pup had gone nuts. From scared to angry in the blink of an eye.

"Are you gonna wanna track her down after this?" he asked Tails.

Tails glanced at Sonic's reflection in his rear view mirror. "Who?"

"Frosty?"

T-Pup's tongue snapped back into its mouth and its muzzle turned rigid.

"Why would I bother chasing her?" asked Tails. "She's not my target."

"You don't wanna see her locked up after what she's put you through?" Sonic gasped.

"I couldn't care less."

Sonic ran his fingers through his quills and sank down further in his seat. But one of T-Pup's bulb-like eyes fixed on him over its shoulder. The expression on the robot dog's face said otherwise.

...

The cold night air bit through Strobe's cloak, but it wasn't the main reason Bitty's fur was on end. She kept her ears trained on her surroundings while her muzzle was almost hidden in Strobe's feathery chest. The roar from the Tornado's engine had long since faded into the distance, but the entire experience had left a cold chill behind that rivaled the early winter air.

"I think they're gone…"

Strobe's voice snapped her out of her daze. Her blue eyes widened, fixing on the black and blue plumage in her face. She jolted backwards, shoving Strobe hard against the wall as an irritating heat flushed over her cheeks. He snatched his warm hand from her shoulder, and dodged her livid gaze as he cleared his throat.

Bitty smoothed out her cape and checked over her gas gun if only to occupy her mind.

"We'd better get out of here," she said. "Catch up with Manic. Urgh, I can't believe he just bailed on us like that!"

Strobe shushed her and tugged her back into his body, causing her tail to stiffen.

"What are you-?"

He shushed her again, more harshly, and she picked up the tell-tale thud of a robot's footsteps.

"You're pulling my cloak back!" he hissed. "You'll reveal us both!"

"I don't care!" she hissed back, shoving his cloak from her. "I can handle a couple of robots!"

He tugged the hood back from his head and glanced towards the footsteps, but they were fading away.

"This is about that fox, isn't it?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You never said anything about him being a GUN soldier."

"Yeah, well." She shrugged and idly flicked over her computer. "I never said anything to him about being a Phantom Thief, either."

"Really? Weren't you engaged to the guy?"

"I planned on telling him eventually, but GUN beat me to it."

"Let me guess. You ran away?" Strobe scoffed and folded his cloak neatly into his bag. "You never did tell anyone. I always wondered if it were something you were ashamed of. Especially since you went so far as to change your name."

Bitty's spine bristled and she sank against the wall, lowering her head into her hand. All her will to argue with him faded, instead manifesting as a strangled choke as her eyes filled with tears.

Strobe jerked his head towards her, his emerald eyes widening slowly.

"I had to," she sobbed. "They sent him after me! If he'd held me at gunpoint I would have let him shoot, okay?! I never meant it to happen. None of it. None of it!"

Strobe stuttered, lifting his hands and hovering beside her like a confused fly. She waved him off and wiped her eyes on the back of her glove.

"He was a target," she went on. "I knew he was working closely with that alien jackal, and I wanted to find out exactly what his powers were so I could sell the information for a hefty price! Everything that happened was a mistake, and yes, you're right, I regret it! Because of me, GUN killed his freakin' sister! And you're surprised I changed my name?!"

Strobe's cloak billowed around her as she was whisked back under it. Her eyes widened slightly as she found herself pulled tightly into his body. She opened her mouth to berate him but stopped herself as the hum of a drone passed by overhead. Every muscle in the nightjar's body was tense as they waited for it to pass. When it finally faded into the distance, he let out the breath he'd been holding and loosened his grip. But she found herself clutching onto his shoulder, unwilling to move. Hanging onto the fleeting comfort of a friend.

"No," he said. "I'm not surprised. But you never told anyone. How was I to know?"

"I didn't want to tell anyone," she said. "I don't want to keep re-living it. It's the one thing in my life I am honestly ashamed of."

"Then why did you let it happen in the first place?"

"Because even a Phantom Thief can fall in love, idiot," she muttered. "And I was blind to the consequences. That's why, when it was time to strike, I left my Calling Card with GUN. Not him."

"Well he didn't seem unhappy to see you." Strobe shrugged. "I don't… think he even recognized you."

"I didn't recognize him either." A lump rose in her throat and her words choked around it. "I think I can safely say that's not the Tails I know. He was always happy, with these huge, expressive blue eyes a girl could melt under." She sighed and pushed herself back from Strobe. "To be honest, the robot dog felt more familiar." She glanced down at her computer, noting the blinking green dot moving away across the ocean. "I've found Manic. Let's go."

She clambered out of Strobe's cloak and he whipped it off himself to fix her with a bemused look.

"How?" he asked.

"I nailed his ship before we even took this mission. I wasn't about to let him have all the fun."

Strobe scoffed and followed after her towards their ships. "Are you okay to fly?"

"Why? Are you offering?" She cast a glare over her shoulder. "Of course I'm fine. I have autopilot anyway."

Strobe tutted and kicked out at a small rock. "Can't blame a guy for being a little worried."

"I know." She paused and took in a shuddering breath. "Thank you."

"Eh." He joined her side, dragging his feet as they made their way back out of the courtyard. "I'll stick close by anyway."

...

Manic flinched and clutched his dashboard as the ship shook for a third time. Bullets peppered its hull and the lights strobed with an infuriating intensity. That plane had come out of nowhere, and they'd taken out his weapons before he'd even had the chance to fight back.

'Manic, both engines have now been compromised,' said Navi. 'I suggest we land immediately.'

He squinted through the window at Wave City. The small coastal docking city was only a short flight away. His ship could land in the ocean no problem, and he could take an escape shuttle the rest of the way. But that wretched plane tailing him would snipe his shuttle out of the air like a duck during hunting season.

"Not a chance," he growled. "We're landin' in the city. There's more places to hide-"

'We cannot land in the city,' said Navi. 'There is no room for this ship to land. It will cause a disruption and damage building structures.'

"I don't care! We're not landin' in the ocean!"

Manic's face almost struck the dash as yet another wave of projectiles wrecked havoc on his precious ship.

'Engines failing,' said Navi. 'We are coming down. Fifteen seconds until impact.'

His heart was racing. The blinking red dot on his navigation screen was growing dangerously closer. He leapt across the dashboard and grabbed the steering controls, shouting out his override code. The ship's nose leveled out before him, trembling violently as he aimed it towards the docks.

'Manic, what on earth are you doing?'

"Takin' over your useless ass!" he barked.

'You are going to kill someone!'

"Not if I'm careful!"

The docks lit up orange as the ship hurtled towards it, streaking flames behind it like a meteor. Dock workers scattered, dropping their boxes as they fled to avoid the blazing ship. The sickening crack of splintering metal and wood filled the bridge, and Manic abandoned his seat to rush towards the door. His cape billowed behind him as he leapt from the hatch. Heat licked at his fur. He gave one mournful look at his ship's melting hull, then turned and fled into Wave City.

The disk was still in his pouch. He fumbled for it and stuffed it into his computer. In a worst case scenario, he had to save the information somehow. He was beginning to deeply regret abandoning Strobe and Bitty. Were they even still alive?

They had to be. Sonic and Tails hadn't left his trail since they'd spotted him. Bitty was a good Phantom Thief. She could handle herself. And Strobe? Well… stealth was his thing.

The little plane's rumbling engine cut through the sky, and its light beam flooded the narrow street. Manic leapt into an alleyway, knocking over a trash can and sending a stray cat fleeing for its life, screeching as it scampered towards the docks. His cloak snagged, tearing on a protruding nail from a boarded-up storefront.

The plane circled again, searching with its floodlight. Erratic shadows danced over the walls, bouncing and twisting as if they were assisting the soldiers in their search.

Manic clenched his teeth together as he bailed into a wide road, hugging the walls of the skyscrapers like a frightened mouse. The floodlight chased after him, lighting up his cloak. Then Sonic leap from the plane's wing in a streak of blue, taking off ahead of the green hedgehog.

Oh no. He knew that trick.

Manic turned and leapt into another alleyway, his foot snagging on a torn trash bag. The stench of rotten food filled his nose and he tugged his cloak up over his face as he fled down the narrow alley. Then he skidded to a halt.

A dead end.

He turned back the way he'd come, and light stung his eyes. He pulled up his cloak to shield it, and Sonic's shadow filled the mouth of the alley. Shrill barking followed as the robot dog leapt beside him, followed by the hedgehog's twin-tailed friend.

"It's over, Manic," said Sonic. "Give back what you stole. That's all I'm here for."

"Huh. Really?" Manic reached into his pouch to thumb at his computer. "Then maybe tell your friend to put his gun away?"

The red dot from Tails' rifle bobbed over Manic's torso, tracing a trail up to his head. But the fox didn't pull the trigger. If he planned to, he was taking his time.

Manic glanced to his left and right. Brick walls and pipes. And a window three stories above him. He pulled out his grappling hook and pain exploded through his hand. He yelped, dropping it onto the grimy floor. Blood seeped through his glove and his entire right hand pulsed with a throbbing pain before going completely dead.

Sonic shot to his side and kicked the grappling hook back towards Tails. The robot dog snatched it up and tossed it further back down the alley towards the plane. Then it fixed its glowing eyes on Manic.

Sonic grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pushed him against the wall, completely blocking out Tails. "Just give back the information, Manic. You have no idea what damage it will cause if you sell it."

"And you clearly have no idea how much it's worth."

"I do, and I don't think it's worth dying for."

Manic snorted and met his brother's eyes. "What? Are you actually gonna kill me? Flippin' typical. The 'better son' would always one-up me. It were only a matter of time, weren't it?"

Sonic was silent for a moment, keeping Manic's eyes on his. The green hedgehog's breaths came in heavy bursts as he felt himself weaken. Warm blood flowed from his wrist and seeped through the fur of his stomach.

"I'm not going to kill you," Sonic said quietly. "You return it, and I'll let you go. Stay off GUN's radar. Let them think you're dead."

"Still trying to be noble." Manic let out a dry chuckle and closed his eyes. His brother was always too soft. "That's typical, n'all. All right."

He reached into his pouch with his left hand. Sonic didn't take his eyes off it. Cautious. Worried Manic was reaching for a weapon. He pulled out his computer, letting his thumb linger on the screen.

"Take it if you're so desperate," he said.

Sonic released his jacket and took the computer. It was already too late. The information had been sent. There would be nothing left on the disk once it was gone. Manic strafed to the side, reaching into his pouch again for something - anything - to disable the two soldiers quickly. Sonic's entire body tensed and he fixed one emerald eye on the other hedgehog.

But Manic never saw that crimson dot from Tails' rifle bouncing below his ear. He barely even heard it fire. Blinding pain shot through his head, and he crumpled to the floor at Sonic's feet. His goo gun clattered to the ground beside him, peppering Sonic's shoes with green sludge.

...

Sonic's heart froze in his chest. It was all he could do to stare down at the prone form of his brother, lying at his feet in a pool of blood. Any second now, he'd wake up. It would all be a bad dream.

T-Pup whimpered from the mouth of the alley, and Tails' soft footsteps echoed through it as he joined Sonic's side.

"What did you just do?" Sonic's words choked out of his throat. He couldn't look up at the fox. He balled his hands into tight fists.

"I had no choice," said Tails.

The fox scooped up the computer. Sonic had dropped it at some point, but it didn't matter if it was cracked or not. Tails slammed it against the wall then removed the data disk.

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to kill him?!"

"No." Tails' voice was as flat as ever. "You said you wanted me to think up another way to deal with this situation. I couldn't. This was our only option."

Sonic turned to him then, eyes narrowed. Tails was too preoccupied with the remains of Manic's computer.

"If we failed to hand him over," he said, "whether or not you retrieved the information, you would have failed in Gadget's eyes. Either way, you were going to lose someone. So what would you rather? Lose your wife and kid who you go home to every night, or your brother who you haven't even spoken to in ten years?"

Sonic slumped against the wall and covered his muzzle with his hand. His eyes stung with tears, but he blinked them back.

"I didn't want to lose anyone," he said. "What is the world coming to, Tails…?"

"It's heading towards being better," said Tails. "Gadget's plans carry promise."

"Do they?"

Tails was silent, turning the cracked computer in his hands.

"Do you honestly think his ideas are what's best for Mainframe?" Sonic asked.

Tails handed Sonic back the damaged computer. "He was transferring it, but it got disrupted when you dropped it. I doubt two percent would be very incriminating?"

Dodging the question. Sonic shrugged it off as he took the computer.

"Who was he sending it to?" he asked.

Tails shrugged. "Someone called Bitty. I've no idea who that is."

Sonic had a strong suspicion who that was. He rubbed his muzzle and turned his head towards Tails, but he was already making his way out of the alley.

"Bro?"

Tails froze, glancing slightly over his shoulder.

"I know you wouldn't have killed him if you thought there was another way," said Sonic. "I know… I know you don't want me to go through what you went through."

"You're right. I don't."

Sonic hugged his arms around himself and screwed his eyes shut. "I want you to know I do appreciate that. I'm not happy it resulted in us having to kill Manic. I just wish… it wasn't us Gadget sent on this murder mission."

The fox flicked his tails and turned back to the whimpering T-Pup. "I'm going to send for a cleanup crew. Feel free to wait in the Tornado."

Sonic watched his friend vanish around the bend and let out a pained sigh. "I guess there's more of you left in that shell than I first thought."

But he knew the real Tails would never have raised a gun to anyone, let alone his best friend's family. Tails wasn't in that body anymore, but he was never far away.

Sonic dropped to his knees and placed a hand on Manic's shoulder. Still warm. Those tears finally broke free, flowing down his cheeks to the floor. T-Pup slumped down beside him and nuzzled his arm. Sonic placed his other hand on the robot dog's back and let out a trembling breath.

"Oh, Manic," he said. "I always meant it when I said I had your back… and I let you down… I'm so, so sorry."

...

Bitty trembled from ears to tail, her breath coming in frantic, noisy bursts. She clutched her hands to her chest, her wide eyes fixed on the stained wall.

Blood.

She'd been right. As soon as she heard that gunshot, she knew what had happened. But she'd denied it. Over and over again. To Strobe, to herself. It had been clear as soon as her computer beeped. As soon as she saw the transfer coming in. A last-ditch attempt to finish a mission he knew he was going to otherwise fail.

And it had been cut off no sooner had it started.

The clean up crew were efficient. They'd already taken Manic's body away, and were occupying themselves by removing the remains of his ship before cleaning up the rest of the mess at the end of the alley. It wouldn't be long before they returned to finish cleaning up the blood, and she wouldn't want to be standing around for that perchance they 'clean' her up too.

GUN wouldn't want any witnesses to this. Whatever information they'd landed on, it was big. And they desperately didn't want it getting out to the general public.

Starline… did he know this would happen? Is that why he wanted to use a Phantom Thief? If things went wrong, he wouldn't be the one to die. It would be whatever hapless, unsuspecting puppet he decided to use. And if they failed, he'd find someone else.

How many times had it failed? She clenched her teeth together and balled a trembling hand into a fist. That platypus. He would pay.

Strobe placed a heavy hand on her shoulder, jolting her back to reality. "We need to move."

The clattering footsteps of the cleanup crew echoed along the street. They'd dealt with his ship faster than she'd anticipated. She tore herself away from the awful sight and followed Strobe back out of the alley. They turned away from the footsteps and trotted through Wave City, looping back towards where their ships were waiting.

Neither of them said a word to each other as they boarded their respective ships. The bridge felt cold when Bitty entered it. Lonely. Funny, given she was the only occupant of her clean, white ship.

She punched in the co-ordinates for Pulse City and sat back in her seat, dragging her hand down her face. Then she reached for her computer.

It was an impulse. Something to distract herself. But her heart froze when she saw the folder smack in the middle of her screen. 'Top Secret Files'. The blatant wording carried more weight of Manic's eccentric personality than it should have. Her eyes filled with tears again and she swiped her glove across them.

Maybe his death wouldn't have been in vain after all. They'd expose whatever GUN was doing. Whatever it was that warranted the heartless death of a citizen.

She tapped on it, bringing it up on her computer's holoscreen. Two files. Both of them bore corrupted titles. Her heart sank as she opened the first one. A small picture filled with black and white static, which she guessed was meant to be the photo of whoever was involved in the plans. The only eligible text was the title. Or what she could read of it. 'How to Make a Living Wea-' The rest was corrupted computer language.

She tossed her computer onto her dashboard and groaned, letting her head fall into her hands. All that… for nothing.

Someone moved onto her bridge and she stiffened, spinning in her chair as she aimed her gun. Strobe lifted his hands and took a step back. She lowered her gun to her lap and flashed a canine, letting out a low growl.

"What are you doing on my ship?" she asked.

"I guessed you wouldn't want to be alone." He flopped into the seat beside her and crossed his legs. "I know I don't."

"And where's your ship?"

"Locked above yours," he said. "I set it to follow the same course."

She spun her chair back around and holstered her weapon.

"Was I right?" Strobe asked.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Thanks."

"And we got nothing from that? Nothing at all?"

"I wouldn't say 'nothing'." She scooted her computer towards him, still open on that corrupted file.

His green eyes flew over it and he lowered the computer to his lap. "That's it?"

"That's it."

Strobe leant his head on his hand and ruffled his feathers with his fingers. "It sounds like they're making a living weapon."

Bitty leant back in her seat and rolled her head back against the headrest. "We don't know that for certain."

"Well what else could the title say?"

She shrugged and let out a slow breath. Her fur was still wet with tears, and she could feel more developing.

"It all feels like such a waste," she said.

"If you don't want it to be a waste, I say we leak what we have."

"What? A rumor? There's nothing there that makes it clear GUN are developing a secret living weapon. There's no logo. No mention of the company's name. Just a few words, one of which isn't even complete! It could say 'weakness' for all we know."

"'How to Make a Living Weakness'?" Strobe scoffed.

Bitty waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever. I'm tired and stressed, and I don't want to be dealing with this anymore."

The bridge fell into silence and she closed her eyes, listening to the dull hum of the engine and the occasional beep from her navigation deck.

"We lost Manic," she said. "On top of seeing Tails like that… I can't help but think this is all GUN. We've learned more today than I ever cared to learn about them. And to make things worse, they know we assisted Manic in getting this information. Tails and Sonic even saw us, Strobe. What if they come after us next?"

She met his eyes and he sighed and tapped her computer. "All the more reason to let this out, isn't it?"

She stared at him for a moment, trying to read his oddly unreadable expression. "Are you suggesting we start a rumor?"

He shrugged and scratched at his feathers again. "We don't have much of an option, really. We were tasked with getting this information and releasing it. I say we release what we've got."

"Do we also tell the world a Phantom Thief died trying to get this?"

Strobe rubbed his beak and closed his eyes briefly. "Yeah."

Bitty nodded and relaxed back into her seat. "Then do it. You're better at this 'social networking' thing than I am."

The bridge fell into silence once more, and she sat listening to the reassuring taps coming from her computer as Strobe set about his task. The sun was beginning to rise, painting the clouds in a striking orange. The dawn of a new day, and soon Mainframe would get sniff of a rumor that would hopefully throw a lot of speculation towards GUN and its ruler, Eggman.

"So what do we do now?" she asked. "Do we hide?"

"I say we stay in Pulse City for a while," said Strobe. "I hardly doubt GUN will send their soldiers up there. A small army would be obliterated by space pirates alone. They can't stand GUN any more than we can."

Bitty scratched her ear and gave a half-shrug. "All right. I guess I'm looking for an apartment then. I don't really wanna live on my ship indefinitely."

"I was thinking the same thing."

She looked up at him, trying to catch his eye. "I'm thinking there's safety in numbers."

He jerked his head up at her and his emerald eyes turned impossibly wide. Then he relaxed again and returned to his task. "You're suggesting we look for somewhere together?"

"Sure. Wanna be room-mates?"

He inclined his head on one side but didn't look up from her computer. "I can think of worse people to share with."

"Then it's a deal." She relaxed back into her seat again and sighed, staring out at the painted clouds. "We'll find somewhere and wait for all this to blow over."

...

Sonic hadn't had a wink of sleep. When he'd arrived home, he'd opted to sleep on his couch, not wanting to wake Aya, and not only was it an uncomfortable place to sleep, he couldn't stop thinking about those events in the alleyway. Manic's lifeless face kept filling his mind, keeping sleep at bay.

Sonic slumped down at Gadget's desk, rubbing his eyes in a bid to stop them from closing of their own accord. The wolf smirked back at him, clasping his fingers together. Right before him was that small, black disk.

"Well done," he said. "It's all on here. He didn't manage to get away with much at all."

Sonic jerked his head up at him, feeling the fog vanish from his mind. 'Well done'? Was he seriously congratulating him for his brother's death?!

"What do you mean 'much'?" Sonic asked. "I thought we got it all back. Tails even stopped the transfer."

"Sadly, a little of it got out." Gadget motioned for Sonic to join him by his computer.

A social media feed graced the holoscreen. The most popular one - FriendFramers - a play on the term 'Mainframer'. The entire place was ablaze with the rumor of a 'living weapon' being manufactured in GUN. There was even a screenshot of a corrupted mass of text, displaying the fractured title of one of Gadget's documents.

A news article already had Eggman disputing such a thing. Surely that text was not enough evidence to go by? But the people were more excited about it all being a potential cover-up so they could continue working on this weapon. Although a majority of Mainframers were skeptical of the whole thing, despite Eggman coming forward to dispute the rumor.

Theories were abound among those hyped up about it. What was this 'living weapon' being made for? War? Assassinations? Conquest of other planets? Removing Eggman from power? Maybe it was a space pirate plot, masquerading as a GUN faction?

Eggman's coverage of the situation went on to elaborate on it. He was not planning a war, and if anyone was making such a weapon to remove him, he'd look into the matters personally.

"If that statement carries weight," said Gadget, "then Eggman's soldiers will be down here to investigate."

Sonic felt his blood turn cold. "Then what do you plan to do?"

Gadget shut off the holoscreen and turned his chair so he was facing the hedgehog. "Nothing."

"N-nothing?" Sonic stuttered.

Gadget spread his hands. "If I do anything, then it will only add fuel to the fire, won't it? I can't send anyone out to remove these other two Phantom Thieves. It's already out there that Manic died trying to get this information."

Sonic clenched his teeth. He hadn't read that part.

"The death of two more Phantom Thieves would provide too much kindling for this rumor," Gadget went on. "I suggest we just continue working quietly, and up the security in this prison. Meanwhile… I'll deal with the man I think is responsible for all this."

Sonic's quills bristled down his spine. "I told you I didn't-"

Gadget raised a hand. "I'm not talking about you. I have my own suspicions on who's behind all this."

Sonic closed his eyes and took in a steadying breath. "Then why did you suspect me? Why threaten me to kill my own brother?!"

Gadget's eyes narrowed at the hedgehog's outburst, chilling him further. He hadn't meant to shout, but he'd been unable to hold it all in. His breath came in heavy bursts as he stared down at the red-furred wolf.

"I suspected you," Gadget said plainly. "You were one of two main suspects. Killing your brother cleared your name. Unless your little fox friend did the dirty work for you?"

Sonic kept his mouth shut, forcing himself to maintain eye contact with Gadget. The wolf turned away from him and waved a hand.

"I'll be keeping you close at hand," he said. "You're dismissed."

"What do you mean 'close at hand'?" Sonic asked.

Gadget fixed one eye on him and one of his canines poked out of his lips. "You really have no respect for authority, do you? I said 'you're dismissed'."

Sonic turned his tail and left the wolf's room quietly. But his words haunted him, along with Manic's accusing, lifeless stare.

...

Starline sat back against the wall of his cell, eyes fixed on the camera across from him. Mere inches from the disruptive electrical forcefield. Gadget chuckled on the other side, hands tucked behind his back.

"This will keep an eye on you," he said.

Starline sighed and met the wolf's sneering face. "I thought cameras in cells was a breach of privacy?"

"There are some situations where people aren't entitled to privacy," said Gadget. "This is one of them."

"So I'm the only one with a camera in their cell?" Starline asked.

Gadget nodded, flashing his sharp teeth in a grin. Then it fell away. "No, wait… Infinite has one, too. I often forget that. His antics are so mind-numbingly dull I don't bother with them. But at least you now have something in common?"

Starline narrowed his eyes at the wolf. "Just how low are you willing to go?"

"Oh, I'm only giving you what you deserve. This way, I'll find out if you're the one leaking out information."

"I told you! You already have my Warp Topaz! Your soldiers have found nothing on me, wolf!"

Gadget shook his head then turned and walked away, leaving Starline alone with the camera.

The platypus gave a small sigh and glanced over at the wall beneath his bed. A small mouse scurried along it, passing beneath a loose tile. No one else had discovered it could be removed. And behind it… a small, uninhabited pocket dimension to hide the real Warp Topaz. They'd never find it even if they removed the brick. Not unless they knew what they were looking for.

"Oh well," he muttered to himself. "I guess we're both stuck now. No privacy for us. We'll just have to hang tight for a little while and see how this all plays out."

The camera twitched, following the movements of the mouse as it left the confines of Starline's bed. A smile tugged up the corners of his beak as he watched the camera. Oblivious. If it had recorded his voice, anyone listening to it would think he was only talking to the mouse.

...

**A/N - As always, please R&R! =D**


	22. Oneshot - In the Shadows

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

**This oneshot sets the scene for the upcoming Book 2. All being well, I'll be able to post that this coming Saturday. But it all depends on if I get the artwork for it finished. So please bare with me if I skip a week again! I've made a start on the art today, and it's planned to be massive so it's taking a while. Once I've got it all sketched out things should move a bit faster.**

Oneshot

In the Shadows

The small office was somewhat unspectacular. Bronzed filing cabinets almost blended in with the brown, peeling wallpaper. The mahogany desk didn't add much value to the room, and just made the entire place feel… well… brown. The only hint of colour was the haze coming from the holoscreen, tinting the grey fur of the middle-aged alpaca an oddly pleasant neon-green.

Sonic sat twiddling his thumbs, his knee bouncing rapidly as he waited for the aptly named Grey to say something. The room was awfully quiet, save for the artificial clacking of the holo-keys and the occasional slurp as Grey sipped his piping hot coffee.

Finally, the alpaca looked up from his computer, and a warm smile graced his face. "Everything looks to be in order."

Sonic let out a long breath and absently tugged at the GUN logo sewn onto his sleeve.

"I have no qualms with your previous work," Grey went on. "What that Gadget fellow was doing was nothing short of insidious. I'll have you know we don't operate in such ways in my branch. Your family is safe with us, Mister Sonic."

"Please." Sonic chuckled and raised a hand. "It's just Sonic."

Grey nodded and turned back to his computer. "You've also requested you partner with your friend Tails?"

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. "That's kinda crucial. Not many other people will really 'get' Tails."

"Does he have some kind of mental health issue?"

"You could say that."

Grey looked up at him again, that smile gone but his expression still warm. "We have a fantastic on-site doctor if he needs any help?"

"I can put it past him, but he'll refuse," said Sonic. "It's a lot more complex than that, I'm afraid."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Not without breaching Tails' confidence."

"I understand." Grey nodded, turning back to his computer again. "We don't discriminate here. I understand Tails is a fine, hard worker. I'm happy to take you both on, and you can work together as you've requested."

Sonic flashed him a friendly grin. "That's great, sir."

"Please, just call me Grey." The alpaca returned his smile and folded his hands together. "You can start right away if you wish. Or you can have a little break and spend time with your family? I think you need it."

"No, but thank you for the offer." Sonic shrugged and relaxed back into his seat. "My wife works all day, and little Trace is back at school. I'd just be sitting around, and that really isn't my jam."

Grey closed his eyes and chuckled. "I see. Well, I can keep you on day shifts for a while then. I… actually think I have the perfect task for you."

He pushed a file towards Sonic. The hedgehog cocked an eyebrow as he read the title. 'Project Shadow'. When he flicked it open, the sneering face of a black and red hedgehog greeted him.

"I think I've seen this," he said. "Although I can't for the life of me think where."

"Oh, rumors get out, but those fires are swiftly stopped," Grey explained. "We can't have citizens being thrown into a panic over a little science experiment."

"'Wanted for Reasons of Scientific Interest'?" Sonic looked up at him, prompting an explanation.

"That's what Eggman wants him for," said Grey. "What 'scientific interest' is beyond me. You see, we want to get to this hedgehog first. Throw a spanner in Eggman's plans. Our goal is to keep this man away from Eggman."

"I dunno…" Sonic scratched his quills as he scanned over the information on the first page. "I just feel like I'm going from running after one experiment to another. How dangerous is this guy?"

"We don't know exactly," said Grey. "Like that folder says, he got away before anyone could even examine him. He's been eluding GUN and anyone else sent after him for years."

Sonic's heart did a flip. Almost sixty years? He read over the information again, and it was as if the small pieces of a jigsaw were falling into place. The hedgehog, named Shadow, originated from a lab in Gamma City. Fifty seven years ago, a small number of scientists set out to create 'the ultimate life form'. One that would be immune to sickness. They'd found a strain of DNA that had fallen to Mainframe on a meteorite. This had been dubbed Dark Arms. Smaller 'blob-like' creatures had been created from it, each one immune to every disease thrown at it - bronchitis, liver disease, degenerative conditions, cancer, the common cold. Nothing would take. Even wounds would zip back up before the scientists' very eyes.

So with that knowledge under their hats, they decided to create something that would blend in better in Mainframe than a blob kept inside a lab. Keeping specimens locked up was something that didn't settle well with the scientists. They wanted to create something that could run free. No… someone. A prototype Mainframer who could set the ball in motion. A Mainframe that would never have to worry about disease again. The prototype would become a medical marvel, breaking grounds in science.

So Shadow was born. But they didn't stop at the Dark Arms. Somehow, they managed to link his entire being up with the Chaos Network using a biological neuro-link. Where this idea had come from, no one knew. A last minute decision? Maybe a means to create an instant, permanent link to the Chaos Network to overrule the need for mechanical taps in the brain? Whatever the case, it was this step that caused the explosion. The entire lab went up in flames, consuming the entire city in a void dubbed 'Null Space' and taking out thousands of lives with it. It took a massive ironic twist as the entire of Mainframe fell victim to a deadly, mutating virus. It lasted more than twenty years before Eggman suppressed it all within the confines of the former Gamma City. Suppressing it also provided an instant cure. People recovered at a surprising rate. But the scars were still there, mental and deep. And Mainframe itself bore the biggest scar of all, pulsing with an ultraviolet glow over the remains of Gamma City. It was believed no one survived the explosion. That was, until someone reported seeing a red and black hedgehog vanishing into thin air. His description was remarkably similar to the ones in the science records. So GUN covered it up, and Eggman sent out his own soldiers to try and apprehend Shadow.

"How long exactly have people been after this guy?" Sonic asked.

"I've been after him as long as Eggman has, since he was first sighted," Grey explained. "So I guess twenty… twenty five years? As for anyone else, well… who really knows?"

"Yikes. And he just runs?"

"Pretty much. But sometimes he does put up a fight."

"Have you, I dunno, ever tried reasoning with him?" Sonic asked. "I mean, if you told him you were offering him sanctuary-"

"We are not offering him sanctuary." Grey narrowed his eyes. "Survivors have reported him utilizing the very Chaos Network in his attacks. This Shadow is believed to be volatile. My goal is to put him into stasis. If he were to explode, he could bring down the entire Chaos Network and Mainframe would crumble!"

Sonic blinked a few times as he tried to absorb this. "Isn't that just speculation?"

"Speculation based on evidence."

"Well, that certainly speaks for itself. It even says here that some soldiers have gone missing, and you said there are survivors… Are you sure you don't know how dangerous he is?"

"We only know what we know," Grey said sadly. "It's possible he's merely just trying to survive, but there is no getting close to him. Although one has managed it. One of Eggman's soldiers never came back from her investigation, but she's definitely alive. She's… gone rogue."

Sonic blinked a couple of times as he tried to take this in.

"It's believed she is helping Shadow," Grey explained. "But you see, her powers are a lot less impressive than his. He can vanish inside the very Chaos Network and travel from one end of Mainframe to the next in the blink of an eye. She cannot. Yet somehow, she's eluding us."

Sonic looked back down at the file. There it was. The soldier, along with her name. Rouge. A bat. And… was that a robot?

Sonic turned the file towards Grey and pointed at the photo. "What about this big guy?"

"Out of the picture." Grey waved a hand. "Eggman dealt with that. Otherwise we'd have taken him in for questioning. For now, if you manage to capture Rouge, then we can quiz her on everything she knows. But your priority target is Shadow himself. If you've dealt with Infinite and survived, I think you have the ability to capture Shadow. You and your friend."

"Oh yeah. Totally!"

Sonic closed the file and leant back in his seat, trying his best to mask any doubts he had about the matter. It all sounded alarmingly familiar. Like it was Infinite all over again. Wild and frightened, desperately trying to keep scientists off his back. Yet there was one person who saw through all that. Someone who could reel him in.

Sonic gave the alpaca a friendly wink. "You can count on us, Grey."

"Fantastic!" Grey clapped his hands together. "Maybe you can make a start in the morning? Although he does often travel at night. My past soldiers haven't had much success tracking him in the dark. He's slippery, as is his accomplice."

"Then maybe I should do the same?" Sonic asked. "I mean, I am pretty quick. I can scout out where he's taking refuge and then catch him during the day."

"Whichever you think is best. You can start tomorrow night instead if you'd rather? Oh and I must implore you to not breathe a word of this to anyone outside of this GUN branch. If Mainframe found out this hedgehog actually exists…" He shook his head and grimaced. "Oh I dread to think."

"You've got it, boss." Sonic pushed himself from his seat and stretched. "I think Infinite's a bigger distraction right now, anyway."

"Let's hope it stays that way."

Sonic scratched his nose as he gave one final glance at the file. An explosion. Dark Arms DNA. An entire city consumed by Null Space. It all sounded frighteningly familiar, and it was setting his alarm bells ringing.

...

The Beatdrop Capital hummed with commuters heading back home from work. Colourful cars and bikes zipped along the roads, coming to a halt at a crossroads as everyone tried to head in the same direction at once. A little further along, a Traffic Drone tried to deal with the situation, ushering on a selection of cars to thin the congestion.

But no one paid heed to the white bat hopping along the rooftops. Neither did Rouge pay much attention to the commuters. She had her own agenda. The sun was already setting, and she'd been out for too long as it was.

She spread her wings and dropped down into an alleyway. Oddly clean for a city. The little bar tucked inside it was just opening, its pink neon sign lit up above the doorway. She zipped past it and rounded the bend into the small backstreet. Only a handful of people occupied it. Three young men, speaking in hushed tones in the boarded-up entranceway to a former club. Too busy with their own lives to notice Rouge. She kept one ear on them as she scurried along the wall. Not that she was afraid. She could handle herself just fine. She just didn't want to risk being slowed down.

A good few feet down from the club was another boarded up building. A former apartment block that had been ransacked by a police raid over a year ago. But no one had done anything about it yet. Instead it had been left to rot as it passed hands from buyer to buyer. No one wanted to buy an old apartment in one of the shady back-streets of the Beatdrop Capital.

The entire building smelled of dust, but it was dry. One of the dryer ones they'd found, actually. Even the water still worked, although it only ran cold. The power had been cut off shortly after it had been evacuated. It almost seemed a shame they'd need to move on again in a day or so.

Rouge peered around an open door and flashed a beaming smile. "Hey! I'm back. Miss me?"

Shadow's ear twitched towards her, but he didn't look up. He sat huddled against a wardrobe, eyes trained on something she couldn't see. Before him lay a chess set in the exact same layout she'd left it in.

"Still messing about in the Chaos Network, huh?" She strolled into the room and dropped down before him, depositing her canvas bag. "I sold that vase. It was worth more than I guessed, actually. Although I do kinda wish I could find a jewel or something every now and then."

Shadow grunted his response.

"It fetched us enough credits to last us a month if we're careful." She rummaged through her bag and emptied its contents onto the floor. "You hungry yet?"

He blinked a couple of times as she nudged a plastic container towards him. Chicken pasta. And a can of iced coffee.

"No," he said.

"Oh come on." Rouge pouted out her bottom lip. "You haven't eaten anything since last night. If we're gonna move again-"

"I've told you a billion times. I don't need to eat as often as you do." He grabbed the iced coffee and cracked it open, relaxing back against the wardrobe door.

Rouge let out a sigh and tucked the pasta back into her bag. "If we run into any trouble, you're going to need your strength."

"I have plenty of it already."

"If you have as much strength as ego then I guess we're set for life?" Rouge scoffed.

He rolled his eyes. "Why don't you eat it instead?"

"I ate while I shopped."

"You went shopping?" He looked up at that, pausing with the can to his lips. "No one saw you?"

"No one paid attention."

Shadow snorted and glanced towards the door.

"I wasn't followed," Rouge said with exasperation. "Come on, Shadow. GUN didn't hire me for my looks, you know."

He trailed his eyes over her almost instinctively then glanced towards the window, silently sipping on his drink. Rouge's cheeks heated up and she snapped her attention onto the chess set.

"Shall we finish this game then?" she asked. "Although you were probably looking up strategies while I was out. So I guess I'm gonna lose now."

"It started with strategies," he said. "Then I got bored and checked what GUN are up to."

"Oh?"

She looked up at that and he shifted over to the chess set and placed his drink down beside him.

"Yeah," he said. "Some psycho jackal got loose, so I guess their attention is off me for the time being."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Eggman said his men are looking into it, so their lasers might be off us for a while." She tapped her lip and inclined her head on one side. "Does that mean we can stay here a bit longer?"

"Too risky."

She sighed and slumped into her knees. "That's a shame."

He knocked his knight into her queen and swiped it from the board.

She straightened and pouted again. "Hey! I was relying on that."

He looked up and fixed her with a rare, playful smile, and she returned it and shook her head.

"I'm calling shenanigans," she said. "You probably moved it while I was out."

"I don't cheat. You're just bad at the game."

"Oh yeah? And who won last night?" She popped her bishop down to take his king the next turn. "Check."

"You got lucky." He moved the same knight across the board with a flourish. "You also don't pay attention. Check mate." He sank back against the wardrobe and winked at her.

She frowned at the board and scratched behind her left ear. "Huh. I guess I'm a little rusty?"

"It's part of being the Ultimate Lifeform." Shadow waved a hand at the chessboard. "I'm just better."

"Better because you can access a whole host of guides in your head." Rouge folded her arms in a mock huff.

"Like I said." Shadow closed his eyes and tucked his hands behind his head. "I'm just better."

Rouge scooted across the chessboard to playfully punch him in the shoulder. He cracked an eye open and fixed it on her.

"You just can't handle the truth," he said.

She rolled her eyes and sank down beside him. Then she grabbed her bag and pulled out another can of coffee.

"So what time do we have to move?" she asked.

Shadow glanced over at the window. "In a few hours, when it's dark."

"Always in the dark," she said.

"It provides more cover."

"I didn't say I minded, handsome. It's also more romantic." He cringed at that and she flashed him a grin. "What? You don't agree?"

"You think running for our lives is romantic?" He tutted and sipped his drink. "You have some warped ideas."

"Okay? If we weren't running for our lives?"

He shrugged. "I don't know any different."

"Okay. Well, given GUN are hunting someone else now, maybe you can learn a little different?"

He fixed one crimson eye on her, but she stared down into the dark contents of her coffee can.

"There's a park in the centre of the Beatdrop Capital." She took a swig of her drink as she glanced up at him and winked. "We can take a stroll through that."

"What are you getting at?" he asked slowly.

"I'm trying to get you to relax." She gave him a playful smile. "Given we now might be able to experience some nights that aren't wrought with danger lurking around every corner."

He snorted and pushed himself to his feet. "Wouldn't that be nice."

He strolled over to the window and leant against it, peering out at the world below. Or what one could see of it. Most of the window was boarded up from the outside. Her heart sank. Just when she thought she might be seeing it, he displayed once again he clearly had no hope.

Of course, it made sense. She'd been assisting him for over a year, and she could count the nights they'd not run into any trouble on one hand. The nights they'd been moving from one location to the next, anyway. The times robots or soldiers had leapt into their hideout she could count on the other hand. Shadow was pretty efficient at keeping them on their toes. They'd hidden in run-down buildings, little nooks and crannies in the sewers, caves along the coast, abandoned warehouses… they'd even set up a tent in the mountains on a couple of occasions.

But the hum of a helicopter or the probing eye of a Strider Drone had become a common threat to run from. The smallest shadows lurking around corners set them fleeing in the opposite direction - often through the Chaos Network. Rouge couldn't count the times those little shadows had been nothing more than feral cats or a street gang. Shadow was taking no chances, and she didn't blame him.

She pushed herself up and joined his side to peer through what she could see of the street. Almost silent, save for a couple of otters standing around a street light. Their laughter reached her ears, but she wasn't sure if Shadow could hear it.

She trailed her fingers through his quills. He relaxed against the window sill, still clutching his coffee can in one hand.

"I promise, we'll be careful," she said. "Besides, the park provides a shortcut to Baseline City. Might be a pretty good place to hide."

"What, an entertainment district?" He snorted and brushed her hand aside, then pushed himself back from the window. "All right, fine. We'll take the park if you really want to. The only robots left in there after closing will be cleaners anyway."

...

Starline stepped out of his wormhole into Eggman's lair and paused to dust down his suit. Searching through Gadget's office had been a somewhat grueling endeavor. The prison and its labs lay in ruin and the dust clouds were still yet to settle.

Eggman barely twitched when Starline appeared in his dome-shaped computer lab. Metal Sonic's claws flexed and he looked up at Starline, his red digital eyes forming deadly slits.

The platypus cleared his throat and tried in vain to ignore the robot. He tugged the recovered file out from under his arm and set it beside the distracted doctor. Eggman gave it one quick glance before returning to his camera feed.

"What exactly is that?" he asked.

Starline rubbed his hands together. It had taken a little while to prise the information out of Eggman concerning his chosen target. But once Starline heard what it was, he itched to uncover everything he possibly could about it.

"Everything I could find on Shadow, sir," he said.

"I already know everything there is to know about Shadow, Starline." Eggman fixed him with an irritated glare. "There was one of him in my old world. This one isn't much different."

"Really?" Starline gasped. He retrieved the file and flicked through it for the third time that day. "Artificial lifeform? Created in a lab? Dark Arms DNA?"

"Precisely. Striking resemblance, really. All the way down to his manipulation of your world's version of Chaos energy."

"Amazing!" Starline looked between the doctor and the open file. "And were you trying to apprehend this Shadow back in your world?"

"There were times I wanted him on my side," Eggman explained. "I even created an army of Shadow androids to do my bidding. Now that one really messed with his head."

Starline made a thoughtful noise and lowered the file. "So what do you want with our Shadow? Do you want him to fight for you? Because I might be able to help with that. As you may recall, I was creating a special harness that-"

Eggman cut him off with a wave of the hand. "I don't want this hedgehog to fight for me. I'm more interested in his biological structure."

Starline's jaw dropped and he stuttered as he tried to fathom what the doctor could possibly mean. Eggman swiveled his chair around to face him and spread his arms.

"I had this recurring problem back in Mobius where pesky hedgehogs would trash my wonderful creations," he said. "Can you believe that, Starline? Such a relentless disregard for genius."

"That is truly abhorrent, sir."

"Well, your world has been much more accepting," Eggman went on. "My technology has seamlessly integrated itself into your very lives! A flawless plan to keep tabs on my citizens. The robots that roam the streets feed back to me what they see. So do the worker androids kept inside peoples' homes… although some of them have been overwritten. And there are certain androids made by Mainframers that lack the data chips I have created. Particularly those created by space pirates. Pulse City doesn't even want my Strider Drones to keep their streets safe, and I have had very little success in dropping them there. No sooner do they appear, it becomes a game to see who can slay the thing first!

"That is where Shadow comes in. Technology has become so integral to your lives that some of you even have it added into your own bodies! Like that socket you told me about."

Starline placed a hand to his chest and absently trailed a finger over the hidden socket. "That was a medical procedure, sir. It can't be tampered with. I had a complicated heart problem and-

"Irrelevant." Eggman turned back to his monitors and zoomed in on one of the Striders' feeds. "I haven't been all that interested in this Dark Arms DNA. That was until I heard about how it works in your world. That little accident that dragged me into Mainframe did something weird to Infinite. I can assure you Dark Arms was not a part of my design for him. Records state that even the Phantom Ruby prototype I created can heal up scratches! If that DNA can be incorporated into another living body without having to start from scratch, then it could prove to be rather useful. What I want to know is can it regenerate machinery? Can I incorporate this DNA into a being who has technology in their bodies and test this? And if not, can I modify it until it does? Think about it, Starline. A world where robots can regenerate lost and damaged parts! No one would remove my data chips again, not from my robots and not from themselves either! No one would be able to keep themselves off my radar!"

Starline's heart began to gallop and he tugged at his suit jacket. "And how would you plan on testing this DNA, sir?"

"Oh, I think we could find someone with technology built into their body. Don't you?"

The doctor didn't look at him, but Starline shifted uneasily. Metal Sonic kept his crimson eyes on him, claws twitching. If Starline didn't know any better, he'd think the robot was laughing at him.

"Well, technology is rather rampant in Mainframe," Starline told Eggman. "I'm sure your genius plan would only offer good to the Mainframers? To someone who has suffered greatly, Dark Arms does offer attractive properties. Immunity to disease, the inability to age, extreme resilience to injury-"

"That would all be nullified," said Eggman. "I am only interested in the regenerative properties for machinery. If the citizens couldn't die, then they would be very difficult to control! No, Starline. I will not be offering them a means to survive longer than they already do. This is a control method. And one I shall sugar coat until people are practically begging for this DNA to be added to their bodies."

"It would need to have a positive impact for them to want it, sir. And you cannot get by on lies alone. They have to see proof."

"Oh, I'll think of something." Eggman leant back in his seat and stroked his mustache. "I have several ideas already."

"Nothing solid?" Starline gasped. "I thought you'd been after this hedgehog for more than twenty years!"

"I've been busy. My soldiers are the ones tracking down Shadow. I've been trying to keep Mainframe in order. I don't begin work on a project until I have it in my hands!" He turned his head to glare at Starline, who cowered back slightly. "Surely any intelligent scientist would understand that?"

"Oh yes, definitely! But I do like to plan things out in advance. Erm… may I ask why you are not also tracking Infinite? I mean, if he has this DNA then it would double your chances at obtaining it."

"I know what Infinite can do," said Eggman. "He's a failed experiment. One that was meant to be brain-washed, and that backfired greatly. Try as I may, I have nothing in place to counter his powers. That jackal would put up a fight and decimate my troops. No, I'll wait for things to calm down a bit on his end before I decide to add him to my hit list."

"Isn't the fact he's out there at all a threat to you?"

"Oh yes. But my robots are no match for him at present. Ones that can regenerate, however…" A wide grin split Eggman's face. "If he's not expecting an attack, he'll be an easier target. Especially if he can't handle what he's fighting." He twirled his mustache between two fingers, eyes drifting in thought. "Or I could lure him into a trap…"

Starline inclined his head on one side, waiting for Eggman to elaborate. But the doctor turned his chair towards him again and beamed.

"But first - Shadow," he said. "How are you getting along fixing all my blind spots?"

"Spectacularly, sir. I've sent a repair squadron to add better cameras to all of the more inconspicuous robots. Shipment haulers, self-service machines, and even the cleaning drones."

"Excellent." Eggman linked his fingers together and chuckled. "You are already proving yourself, Starline."

Starline gave a nervous laugh and bowed. "Of course, sir!"

Metal Sonic raised his claws and made a strange beeping sound.

Eggman placed a hand on the robot's head but kept his eyes on Starline. "Just don't let me down."

Starline trembled slightly, but Eggman's attention was drawn by another strange noise coming from the robot hedgehog. They followed Metal Sonic's gaze to one of the monitors near the door. A park, shrouded in darkness as the sun had long since set. The footage was from a Cleaner Drone, its attention focused on emptying one of the trash cans. But just beyond it, two figures strolled along side by side. A little out of focus, but their shapes were unmistakable. A bat, and a black-furred hedgehog.

"Would you look at that!" Eggman rose from his seat and chuckled. "Well done, Starline. Looks like your tweaking of my Cleaner Drones has brought me fresh footage of my target."

Before he'd even finished his sentence, Metal Sonic's rocket flared to life. The blue robot shot from the room, kicking up a hot wind. Starline brought his hands up to shield his face, and once the wind had settled, he smoothed out his coat and stared after the robot.

Eggman pushed a button on his control deck. "Officer Art? Shadow has been spotted in Beatrop Central Park. Organize your soldiers at once and assist Metal!"

'Roger!' came the somewhat androgynous voice.

Eggman settled back into his seat and turned it to face the monitor. "Now we just sit back and watch the fun play out."

"Would you like me to assist?" Starline asked. "I know that park. I could open a porthole and-"

"A cup of tea would be lovely, thank you, Starline."

...

Rouge let out a contented sigh and tucked her hands behind her back, basking in the quiet moonlight. A few Cleaner Drones moved through the shadows, collecting stray crisp packets and discarded soda cans. But none of them so much as looked in their direction. One of them began to let out a long hiss as it sprayed the concrete footpath with hot water. Rouge turned her head towards Shadow, who eyed the robots warily. But unlike in the busy streets of the city, he did appear more relaxed.

"I told you it would be a nice walk," she said.

He grunted and turned away from the robots, keeping his eyes on the shadows ahead of them.

Rouge's ears drooped slightly and she took a step closer to him. "It's a rare moment of freedom, Shadow. Enjoy it."

He closed his eyes and sighed, but said nothing. She could tell he'd bitten back whatever retort he'd had on his tongue. She could almost hear him telling her this wasn't 'freedom'. Not the way she'd described it hundreds of times already.

Somewhere above them, hidden in the boughs of the trees, an owl hooted. She turned her ear towards it and scanned the branches, but the bird was well hidden from sight. Beyond the trees, the night sky was clear, dotted with twinkling stars.

An idea sparked in her mind and she tugged on Shadow's arm. "Come on! I want to show you something."

Shadow found himself dragged behind her as she rushed towards a clear patch of grass, just off the main footpath. It was clear of Cleaner Drones as they congregated around the benches and footpaths.

Rouge released Shadow and flopped onto her back on the cool grass, keeping her wings spread around her. She stretched and tucked her hands behind her head, flashing Shadow a beaming smile. He stood beside her, watching her with a puzzled look on his face. His hands twitched at his sides and he glanced over a the robots again, then beyond them as if he expected someone to leap from the trees at any second.

"You gonna join me?" she asked.

He jerked his head back around at her again and raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"No." She patted the ground beside her. "Come on. You missed this opportunity when we were in the mountains. I'm not gonna let you skip out on it this time."

"What opportunity?" he scoffed.

"The stars, Shadow." She waved a hand at the sky. "Have you ever taken the time to actually look at them?"

"I know they're there," he said.

"That's beside the point. Come on, it's relaxing."

"I don't know how you can call standing around in the open 'relaxing'."

"I'm not standing."

He shook his head and clenched his teeth. "Fine. Five minutes."

He slumped down beside her and fell heavily onto his back, every movement meant to emphasize his displeasure at her offer. She laughed and shook her head before looking back up at the sky.

"So what are we looking at?" he asked.

"Well… they're not as clear here as they are from the mountains. But I like to try and make pictures out of them."

"You mean constellations?"

She glanced sideways at him. "You've looked for them before?"

"No. But I've read about them." When she didn't respond he returned her glance. "I got bored a lot before you showed up. I practically lived in the Chaos Network."

She chuckled and turned back to the sky. "I always thought you were a bit of a Chaos geek."

He huffed and shuffled back into the grass. "Go on then. Point one out."

"Oh, I don't know any," she said. "Well… I've never found any. I just make them up. Like those five there? They could be a dog."

"You're wrong." He pointed at her chosen stars. "Join them with those two and you get the one people call Hope."

"What? The one that looks like a flower?" She squinted at the sky. "I don't see it. Why do I never see any of these things?"

"Because you're not looking for them, I guess."

"Well it doesn't look like a flower to me." She pointed off to their left. "All right. Those ones over there look like a bunny. Is that one?"

"Not in the slightest."

"But it looks like a bunny right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure. It looks like a bunny."

She laughed and let her hand fall at her side between them. "Okay, then let's make our own. Given I can never spot any of the real ones."

"It's easy!" he said. "Look. Point out those stars in the flower again."

She sighed and scanned the sky again. "You're taking the fun out of it, you buzz kill. There."

"Wrong. They're there. Three in a row, with the other three around it to form its petals."

"I stand by my opinion that it looks nothing like a flower."

"Fine. How about this one?" He scooted closer to her to point over at her right. "Those stars are meant to form a falcon."

"Nope." Rouge closed her eyes. "You're making it boring. Stop."

"If you don't want to learn, fine." Shadow pushed himself up from the floor. "There's not much sense in staying here, is there?"

"No, wait." She grabbed his wrist. "You can teach me if you want. I'll be a good student."

He shook his head and settled back into the grass. "Okay. We'll start with the falcon then."

Rouge barely took anything in as Shadow pointed to various stars, elaborating on how they were meant to form their various constellations. She found herself paying more attention to him than his words, and he didn't seem to notice when she stopped looking at the stars. She wasn't sure herself when exactly she did, either. She found herself fascinated by the way the cool wind moved through his quills and fur, and how his large eyes sparkled the more animated he grew in his explanation; the small smile that played on his lips, occasionally flashing his canines. She rarely got to see him like this. He was usually tense and alert, bracing for the next blare of a gunshot, or the roar of chopper blades overhead.

She inched closer to him and her fingers brushed against his hand. His words cut off as he gave a glance in her direction, and he settled back into the grass, tucking his other hand behind his head.

"You've not listened to a word I've said, have you?" he asked.

Rouge chuckled and mimicked his position. "Not really."

He shook his head and closed his eyes. "You're impossible."

"You flatter me."

She trailed her fingers over his palm and he moved his hand into hers, linking their fingers together. She stared down at their entwined hands, feeling her heart pick up a little.

"Thank you," he said.

"What for?"

He turned his head to meet her eye. "Everything."

She let out a lone laugh and looked back up at the stars. "I should be the one thanking you."

He said nothing, but she could feel him still watching her. It was becoming a more common occurrence, and one she really didn't mind.

"You were right," he said. "This is nice. We should do it more often."

She turned to smile at him, but the smile was snatched away as something rushed through the bushes on the other side of the path.

"Shadow, I think we need to move."

She leapt to her feet, fluttering into the air to get a better view. Shadow didn't need telling twice. He was on his feet and rushing to meet the robot hedgehog before it had even fully emerged from its hiding spot.

...

The skyscrapers always offered a fantastic vantage point. The cool night air washed through Sonic's quills as he perched on the edge of one of the Beatdrop Capital's many business towers. The city stretched out around him, and it was from this height one could truly appreciate how massive the place actually was.

"This is gonna be like searching for a needle in a haystack," he told Tails.

The fox stood behind him with T-Pup, tweaking his tranquilizer rifle. "A needle isn't that hard to find if you have the right tools."

"What? Like a magnet?" Sonic craned his neck back to see his friend.

"Precisely." Tails looped his rifle strap back around his shoulders and straightened. "Of course, we first need to find out what tools are the best to locate this hedgehog. Camera feeds; recorded sightings by GUN or conspiracy theorists; searching for evidence of where he might have been hiding."

Sonic rolled his eyes and groaned. "It would take too long!"

"It would take even longer if we just ran circles around the guy."

"I guess." Sonic turned to gaze back out at the city. "But where do we even start?"

"I suggest sniffing out alleyways. He has been known to lurk in abandoned warehouses. We might find some clues there."

"Or him if we're lucky!"

Something caught Sonic's eye and he leant forwards to get a better view of it. Blue, and fast. It zipped along the road, winding around a bend and took off towards the centre of the city.

"Whoa." Sonic straightened and stared after it. "I think that was my name-sake."

Tails joined his side and narrowed his eyes at the vanishing blue blur. "Metal Sonic?"

"I think so, yeah! I wonder what he's after?"

Sonic leapt over the edge of the skyscraper and raced down the side of the wall after the robot. Tails strained to keep up, his twin tails beating behind him in overdrive.

"You think he's after Shadow?" he asked.

"If not, I'll eat my own quills!"

T-Pup yipped jovially and flared his rocket jets as the trio sped after Metal Sonic. His jet engines were audible over the drone of hover cars, and Sonic picked up speed to catch up with him. The roads ended at a large park, and Sonic spotted the robot vault the fence and vanish into the bushes.

"Oh, you are definitely chasing something," said Sonic.

He followed after him, landing in a crouch amid the thorny branches of a bramble. Tails and T-Pup landed beside him silently, eyes trained on the dark shadows ahead of them. Voices, but Sonic couldn't make them out. Metal Sonic moved slowly around the trees and bushes, intensely focused on whatever lay beyond them. If he was aware of anyone else's presence, he didn't show it. But Sonic knew full well there was no launching a surprise attack on the robot.

Then Metal lurched forwards, vanishing beyond the bushes. A yell, then the sounds of a struggle.

Sonic leapt from his hiding spot in a blue streak then doubled back with a yell as Metal Sonic skidded backwards, his sharp feet digging up turf. Shadow manifested in the air, striking the back of the robot's head with a strong crescent kick. The robot landed face first in the grass, beeping and crackling in protest. The bat that accompanied Shadow seemed to appear out of nowhere, spinning from the air to strike the robot like a drill. But all it did was make him beep some more, somewhat irritably.

"Get back, Rouge!"

The black hedgehog vanished again, only to reappear above Metal Sonic to launch another kick. His shoes blazed with flames, but the robot reached out and grabbed his foot, swinging him like a rag doll towards a tree. But Shadow never struck it. He vanished once more, and Metal Sonic rolled aside as the black hedgehog appeared to strike him again. Soil and blazing grass rose into the air, and Sonic ducked further back behind the tree he'd been using as a shield.

He had to do something. Shadow and his friend had their work cut out for them with that robot. He was fast and resilient, much like Shadow himself. And if Metal Sonic apprehended him, then the hedgehog would find himself in Eggman's clutches. Then what would become of Mainframe?

Sonic leapt from behind the tree in a streak of blue, spinning towards Metal Sonic. He struck him right in the chest, knocking the robot off his feet and sending him hurtling into a tree. Its trunk splintered and cracked and the robot turned his head back towards it. He let out a series of beeps and leapt aside as the tree came crashing down right where he had been standing.

Metal Sonic turned to face the blue hedgehog and his digital eyes narrowed.

"Huh." Sonic wiped his muzzle on his glove. "I guess you can be taken by surprise."

Metal Sonic flexed his claws and lowered his posture slightly, all focus now on Sonic. If Sonic didn't know any better, he'd have thought there was a look of recognition in the robot's face, as if it had met him before.

"I never understood why my dad wanted to name me after you," Sonic told him. "I mean sure. I'm blue, and I'm a hedgehog, but we're nothing alike!"

The robot shook his head slowly. Did… did it actually understand him? Then Metal flexed his claws again and his rocket jet flared to life. Sonic leapt aside with a squeak as the robot lashed out, tearing the air with sharp claws.

Shadow stood a few feet away, shifting uncertainly. Then Rouge grabbed his wrist.

"Come on, while we have the chance," she hissed.

Sonic cast a glance towards the bushes. Tails was still lurking, rifle raised. There was no way the fox was going to miss out on this opportunity. Sonic would distract the robot, and Tails and T-Pup would focus on detaining Shadow. A flawless plan, surely?

He didn't have enough time to think over it. Metal Sonic rushed him again, raking Sonic's arm with his claws. Sonic grimaced and twisted to the side, trying to keep the speedy robot in his sights. Sonic curled into a ball and leapt, striking the robot in his side. Metal Sonic landed in a sprawl in the thorn bushes, his red eyes flickering with the impact. He pushed himself up slowly, the prickly branches tangling around his limbs and quills.

Tails' rifle fired and Sonic heard a grunt. Metal Sonic lifted his head towards the noise and gave an irritated series of beeps. He tore the branches from his body and leapt past Sonic, swatting him aside with the back of his hand. The robot stopped short of where Shadow had been standing, and his entire body shook.

No sign of Shadow or the bat.

Helicopters flocked in the sky in the distance, homing in on the park. GUN soldiers. Most likely Eggman's soldiers. If it was, they were too late now.

The robot snapped his head around, locking Sonic in a leer. But the fight was over. He flared up his rocket and took off across the park in pursuit of his prey.

Sonic clutched his arm as he moved over to Tails. The fox stared at T-Pup as it sniffed the grass where Shadow had been standing. The fox's expression was calculating.

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"He vanished," said Tails. "I was expecting him to reappear again, but not this time."

"Did you manage to hit him?"

"Oh yes. I struck him right in the shoulder with a dart. He was more occupied with protecting his friend." Tails looked up at Sonic. "I have some bandages. You might want to cover up those scratches. The blood will leave a trail otherwise."

"Yeah, thanks bud." Sonic sighed and took the offered bandage, securing it tight around his arm. "Man, that robot is tough! I feel like I've made a mortal enemy there."

"It looked like it recognized you."

Sonic's eyes widened with surprise. "You thought that too?"

Tails nodded twice then secured his gun over his back. "Now T-Pup has Shadow's scent, finding him should be a lot easier."

The robot dog yipped and wagged its spindly tail.

"Great." Sonic tied off the bandage and joined his friend's side. "Let's just hope we don't come face to face with that Metal Sonic again. I don't think I want to fight him a second time." He sighed and rubbed his shoulder. "Come on. Let's beat it before those reinforcements get here."

...

Shadow reappeared just outside The Beatdrop Capital. He released Rouge and grunted, slumping back against a cold stone wall. He tugged the dart from his shoulder and tossed it into the nearest trash skip.

"Are you okay?" Rouge asked.

She reached out to him but he swatted her hands away. He pinched his muzzle between two fingers and screwed his eyes shut.

"I knew that was a mistake," he said. "And I let you talk me into it."

"You're blaming me for this?" she gasped.

"No. I'm blaming myself for giving into a moment of weakness." He took a in a breath. "For letting myself think freedom is actually an option for me!"

Rouge closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. "It is an option. That was just unfortunate. Metal Sonic just happened to be there, so we were in the right place at the wrong time-"

"It isn't an option for me! It never has been! You should know that! You were after me once!"

Rouge's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find words.

"You were the only person who's even come close to catching me," he said. "And now three show up at once?" He slumped against the wall, visibly trembling. "That fox has good aim."

"I clearly see what others can't," she said. "You're not just some science experiment."

He rubbed at his muzzle and his ears began to droop slightly.

"Maybe one day others will see that too?" she said.

"I just want them all to leave me alone," he said. "I want… what you keep showing me. Running is all I know…"

She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "One day you'll have it."

"You keep saying that." He shrugged her off and she took a step back.

"That's because I believe it."

He scoffed but didn't open his eyes.

"Unlike you, those chasing you can't live forever," she said. "Not even Eggman."

"If that was the case then why are they still dogging me? Jobs change hands. I've had different soldiers after me for years." He lowered his hand and rolled his head back against the wall. "I just want them to leave me alone."

Rouge's braced herself as she watched him slump down against the wall, falling into a squat. His words had started to slur. She'd never seen him like that.

"Is that stuff getting to you?" Her voice wavered slightly.

"What can I do," he said, "to keep them off my back?"

She stooped to pull him back to his feet, looping his arm over her shoulders. "Come on. You're not falling asleep here. We'll find somewhere to stay for a while."

He said something else, but it came out as incoherent nonsense. She turned her head left and right, searching for anywhere they could hide until the drug wore off. Hopefully soon, given his usually rapid recovery.

There. A manhole cover. Her nose crinkled at the thought, but it would have to do. She pulled him into her side and led him to the sewer, but he was rapidly becoming a dead weight. She left him at the base of the ladder as she tugged the lid back in place. A few feet from the opening was a tunnel. A lot cleaner looking than the rest of the place.

Her feet echoed along the metal grate as she made her way towards it. Then she set the unconscious hedgehog against the wall. He always looked oddly peaceful when he slept. She crouched down before him and trailed her fingers over the side of his face. Warm, just like any other Mainframer. Yet he didn't know the same life everyone else did. All he knew was danger and fear. It made her heart ache.

"I'm sorry." A lump rose in her throat as tears ran down her cheeks. She placed her forehead against his and wound her fingers in his quills. "I just wanted you to know a little happiness for once. I guess it really backfired, huh?"

...

**Thanks for reading! As always, please R&R! =D**


	23. Sleepless Chapter 1

**A/N - It's finally here! Sorry for the delay! Note to self, get the artwork done WELL in advance! **

**Book Two is in two parts, and is my attempt at a cyberpunk noir murder mystery. It's heavily inspired by the Death Note light novel Another Note. Fair warning, it can get a bit gristly. I've tried not to go overboard, but it is a murder mystery after all.**

**I hope you enjoy! =D**

Book Two - Sleepless

Part One - Heartbreaker

Chapter One

Only a small desk lamp lit the dingy office. The blind was drawn, keeping out the neon streetlight. It was exactly how Silver liked it. Well, aside from the damp. The walls soaked up moisture like a sponge from the top down, and an unsightly patch of mildew had made its home in the far corner by the window. The perils of being holed up in the top-most office of a run-down business block. But the rent was cheap, and it was better than trying to find somewhere to sleep on the streets.

The grey hedgehog leant his head on one hand while the other lay open on the table. His eyes were trained on a pen while he muttered irritably to himself. A faint blue glow surrounded his hand, then the pen. It rocked a little off the table. Then again. Then the pain. It shot up his arm into his head and he screwed his eyes shut, clasping his hands over his face. A faint knock came from the door and he slumped back into his seat, rubbing between his eyes as pain pulsed around them. Who on earth was that at this hour?

"It's open." The words came out as an embarrassing groan.

The door cracked open, letting in light from the stairwell. He ventured to open his eyes, flinching as the light dazzled him and made that throbbing worse, just like it always did when he practiced. A dainty figure stood shadowed against it, large pointed ears twitching as she looked around the room. Her muzzle creased with what he took to be an unimpressed frown. A cat? A rather pretty-looking cat.

"I think you have the wrong office." He lowered his hands to his desk and she met his eye. "The studio is on the third floor."

"I'm not looking for a studio," she said. "I heard there is a private detective based here? A hedgehog called Silver?"

He sat up straight and raised an eyebrow. "That's me?"

"I thought so."

She closed the door behind her and moved into the light, glancing at the peeling walls. Everything about her was purple. Lavender fur, royal purple dress… save for the crimson trim and the odd white parts of her attire. She seemed to give off a regal air. What on earth did someone like her want with him?

"I'm hoping you might be able to help me?" She fixed her yellow eyes on his.

"Sure." Silver gestured for her to pull up the seat opposite him and she complied. "What's the problem, Miss…?"

"Blaze." She scrutinized him for a moment and made a thoughtful noise. "You appear to have a migraine."

He started slightly and lowered his hand from his head. He'd been absently massaging it. He placed his hands on the desk, hoping they'd stay there this time.

"It'll pass," he said.

"I can come back later?"

"No, it's fine."

He let out a small sigh and tried to force a smile. She shifted in her seat and glanced at the wall behind him. Great, he'd weirded her out now. He opened his mouth to try and rectify things, but she began speaking over him.

"It's my brother," she said.

"Your brother?"

"Yes. He… died two weeks ago. But everyone keeps writing it off as a suicide."

Silver narrowed his eyes in thought as something sparked in his mind. He snatched the newspapers from beside his desk, rifling through them until he found the right one. The article graced the front page. Ember, a cat, found dead in his bath tub in his studio apartment. No signs of injury, no signs of a struggle. So they'd put it down to suicide. A Snowstorm overdose, apparently. He'd been next in line to become Mayor of the Beatdrop Capital, and the ceremony had been the following week.

Silver looked back up at the cat before him with a start. "You're the Mayor's daughter?!"

She shuffled in her seat and wound her hands together, giving a nervous glance to the window. "Shh! No one knows I'm here."

"Sorry." He lowered his voice and placed the paper neatly before him. "But what would someone like you want with a run-down detective like me?"

"Lower profile," she said. "Besides, you get the job done."

He nodded and absently read the article again.

"I don't believe it was suicide," said Blaze. "My brother showed no signs of ever having anything bothering him. He was looking forward to the ceremony."

"People do tend to keep these things well hidden," Silver explained. "Unless you have a real reason to suspect otherwise, there's not much I can do."

"I just stated my reasons. He was a level-headed man who'd never touched the stuff in his life. This is wildly out of character. I believe the entire thing was staged."

"So you think he was murdered?"

"Yes."

"I don't know, Blaze. This really isn't enough evidence-"

"It's plenty of evidence!"

Blaze slammed her hands onto the desk and flames erupted around her wrists. Silver shot back into his seat as far as he would go. Sparks flew from her cuffs onto his desk, spreading to the newspaper and his post-it tray. Blaze retreated back to her seat, clasping her hands together as the flames fizzled out.

"I am so sorry," she stuttered. "I… can't really control it."

He swiftly emptied the cold remains of his coffee onto his desk, then beat out the smoldering newspaper with his hands.

"It's okay," he said. "I know one or two things about unruly powers."

She rubbed the fluffy cuffs of her gloves and avoided his gaze. "It's just… I know my brother wouldn't have taken that stuff. He was against Snowstorm rabidly. He led protests and fought against it! He wouldn't… I really do think someone has staged this."

"Okay. Well that throws some shade onto this situation." Silver scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Didn't they find evidence of these drugs in his blood?"

"No, they're refusing to run an autopsy." Blaze shrugged. "As far as everyone is concerned, the evidence was there. An empty box of Snowstorm, and a locked bathroom door as if he didn't want anyone to walk in and see him."

"And no one else has considered this why?"

"I don't know." Blaze shrugged her shoulders. "They just can't see through the evidence. They assume everything has been an elaborate cover-up because, oh boy, what if the man running for Mayor touched Snowstorm?! It would give him bad press."

Silver wound his hand in his quills as he looked between the cat and the article. It really did sound like a typical suicide. Or an accidental overdose. But if she really felt she had reason to believe otherwise… It could just be denial. Either way, work was becoming infrequent. He could use the job, and if it helped put her mind at rest, then he'd do it.

"Where is the body?" he asked.

"Waiting to be prepared for the funeral in two days," she said.

"That's barely enough time to get an autopsy sorted," he said. "It would delay things. Would your family be happy about that?"

"Not at all, but I really don't want to bury him wondering if someone is behind all this."

"I understand that. But after all this time, it would be unlikely to find any traces of toxins in his body. If it was poison-"

"I just… I just want to know."

Silver nodded and leant back in his seat. "Then I'll deal with it. I'll find someone who can get this done quickly."

"Without letting my parents know?"

She met his eyes again. Cold, yet worried.

"I'll do what I can," he said. "I'll have to make a few phone calls, but I have an idea of who might be able to help."

She settled into her seat, watching him as he reached for his phone. He stared back at her, hand hovering over his mobile.

"You really don't have to stay here," he said.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," she said. "And I'll just be wondering and worrying if I stay at home."

"I can call you."

She wound the hem of her dress in her hands and glanced away from him. "Please… if someone is responsible…"

"What, you think they're gonna come after you?"

She said nothing, but the glistening in her eyes told him everything.

He nodded and picked up his phone. "Okay. But this might take a little while."

...

Infinite gave a loud, wide yawn for what must have been the tenth time that hour. Amy cast an irritated glance towards him as she popped the cereal box back onto the shelf.

"If you're really this bored, you could have stayed in the hotel," she said.

"I already told you, I would have been bored in the hotel." Infinite tucked his arms behind his head and stifled another yawn. "Aren't you buying that?"

Amy frowned at the box of sugary cereal. She'd picked it up twice already only to put it back. Irritated by her own indecisiveness, she grabbed the box and dropped it into her basket. Money had been hard to come by recently, and her inspiration was drying up. Several designs lay scattered around the hotel dressing table or crumpled into the waste paper bin, and it was really beginning to get on top of her.

She turned from the cereal aisle towards the self service checkout and quickly scanned through her overflowing basket. Most of which consisted of Infinite's rather odd diet choices. The jackal quietly stuffed everything into bags while Amy gave her debit card a mournful glance before scanning it over the reader. The pair then stepped out of the supermarket into the Beatdrop Capital's busy streets.

Infinite reached into one of the bags for his box of dog biscuits and Amy swatted his arm.

"Put it back!" she barked.

He stared down at her with an unreadable expression. His familiar default that no longer chilled her like it used to.

"But I'm hungry," he said.

"It's not lunch time yet, and we can't afford to snack. Put it back."

"I need to eat more than you do. The Phantom Ruby's powers take up a lot of my strength."

"Then stop pointlessly using them." She shook her head and groaned. "Good grief, it's like having some ungrateful pet alien who just showed up on my doorstep one day and wouldn't leave."

"Pet?" he spat.

She pointed at the canvas bag in his hand. "Put. Them. Back."

He sighed and dropped the box back into his bag before strolling on ahead of her.

The sky was riddled with dark clouds, and a deep roar cut through the air, rumbling over the rooftops. No rain yet, but if it kept up like this she could expect a summer storm to hit. She quickly checked she had her umbrella tucked away in her shopping bag then trotted to keep up with Infinite's long stride. He hummed to himself, always glancing at the skyscrapers and passers by with some kind of avid fascination. It had originally bugged Amy but she'd grown used to it as days rolled by. Two weeks they'd been stuck in the Beatdrop Captial, and she didn't miss Central City at all.

The sky lit up with a flash, followed by another crash of thunder. Louder this time. Amy let out a small 'eep!' and trotted down the streets as fast as her shopping bags would allow.

Infinite rushed to keep up with her and chuckled. "What's the problem, Pink Freak? Scared of thunder of all things?"

"Shut up!"

She ducked across the road as the traffic came to a stop, lowering her head as if it would keep the threat of rain off her quills.

When they arrived back at their hotel room, she let out a small sigh and looked over at the window. Rain. They'd just missed it. She dropped the shopping on the worktop beside the small oven hob and started stuffing things into the cupboards. Infinite assisted, and she soon found herself shoved aside as he straightened everything out by size. Label facing forwards. Canned goods, then jars, then plastic containers, then boxes.

Amy shook her head and turned back into their sleeping quarters. Two bedrooms, separated by a wooden fold-away screen. He'd wanted the one at the back. The smaller one, with its own tiny bathroom. The bigger family bathroom was on her side. It cost a pretty credit by the week. More than her monthly rent back in Central City. The hotel was already eating into her savings, but it was more affordable than renting two rooms in a cheaper hotel. She didn't feel comfortable sharing with him in a small little hole with no self catering.

She placed a hand on the paperwork scattered over the dressing table. Designs for an autumn range she'd been hoping to have sold to someone by now, but it felt wrong. The colours, the patterns. It all just felt wrong. If she didn't sell something fast, or find a cheap apartment to rent, both her and Infinite would find themselves on the streets in a couple of months.

Infinite…

She leant against the window sill and stared out at the rapidly darkening street.

What was she even meant to do with him? Sonic had told her he was safer with her, but Gadget had gone missing and not been heard from since. Was the wolf even still out there, looking for them? Was GUN? And if not, did she still need to keep Infinite with her? Things would be a lot easier if she could just let him go. Find somewhere to live and forget all about this. But they'd made a deal. If she could get him to care for something, anything, and not destroy Mainframe, then that was more important. But he'd shown no desire to harm Mainframe since their final fight with Gadget.

Infinite's reflection appeared in the glass and she glanced up at it. He inclined his head on one side then nodded towards her dressing table.

"It needs orange," he said.

She turned to follow his gaze to one of her pattern designs. A dress with a leaf print against a muddy green backdrop.

"Don't be silly," she said. "She'd end up looking like she's wearing a pumpkin."

"Fine." He reached for her sketch book and pencil wrap. "Don't trust me."

He turned towards her bed and she half expected him to leap upon it and start doodling away like he often did. As if he had no idea what boundaries were. She'd stopped scolding him for it, since it made no difference.

But instead he froze and narrowed his eye at her reflection. He lowered the book to his side and moved behind her, so close she could feel the warmth from his body through her dress. He reached out his free hand towards her and she flinched away slightly, leering back at him through the glass. Then she sighed and closed her eyes, letting him brush her quills back from her face.

"What do you see when you look at yourself?" he asked.

What did he mean by that? She frowned at his reflection, but her own emerald gaze caught her eye.

"A pink hedgehog?" she said sarcastically.

He grunted. "Look deeper than that."

Her brow furrowed as she tried to work out what he was getting at. He was still trailing his fingers through her quills, but he met her eyes in the glass. No humor. No sign he was teasing her.

"You see yourself as a disappointment, don't you?" he said.

She scoffed and swatted his hand away. "What, are you using your Phantom Ruby tricks to try and work me out?"

"I don't need to." He let his hand fall to his side and met her scolding glare as she turned around to face him. "It's obvious. You've been slaving away over this for days." He waved a hand to the dressing table. "I don't sleep most nights, so I know you've been skipping out on your own sleep. Don't think I can't hear your little ramblings and tantrums while you're trying come up with 'something awesome' that 'all the girls will love'. It was amusing at first, but it's getting tiresome." He turned his back on her and tapped the drawing he'd picked out earlier. "Orange."

All anger fizzled out of her as she looked between the drawing and the retreating jackal. Was that some weird, convoluted way of him telling her he was worried about her? He tugged the front door open and stepped outside.

"Where are you going?" Amy asked.

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "For a walk."

"In the rain?" she asked. "With a sketch book?"

"Sure." He shrugged and turned away from her. "I'll be back later. Don't wait up."

The door clicked shut behind him and a sense of loneliness and unease washed through the room. It suddenly felt a lot larger than it usually did. It wasn't the first time he'd gone off on a random walk. The first time she really did think he wasn't coming back. It had both calmed her and unsettled her, and when he'd come back through the door she'd felt oddly glad. She scolded herself for days after that one. Didn't she want to get away from the crazy jackal?

She shook her head and flopped down at the dressing-table-turned—studio. "Pull yourself together, Amy."

Much to her surprise, the dress design found itself in her hands. Orange… She set it back down and let out a sigh, rubbing beneath her eyes. It was worth a shot, right?

She grabbed a sheet of paper and traced the design several times over. Then she grabbed her coloured pencils and started throwing them down one after the other. After she'd filled them all in, each one containing orange in some way, shape or form, she held it in both hands and took it in.

The weirdo was right. Orange was the way to go. She found herself staring at the dress with the orange backdrop, showcasing a pattern of red, brown and yellow leaves. Maybe a little bit of gold to add a sparkle? She noted that down then set the design back on the table.

She couldn't believe it. After all that time, orange was the right choice? She wasn't even a fan of orange, yet it worked.

So she sketched out a final design. Carefully. Making sure to use inks for a nice, smooth finish. It took her well into the late hours of the night, but once she was done she found herself smiling. She'd actually accomplished something. The final design looked amazing, with its little flecks of gold over the yellow leaves like little sun-specks on a dewy autumn morning. She set it down and made a mental note to send it off to her client in the morning.

She yawned and stretched, then reached for her phone. It was plugged into the wall socket, fully charged. A few messages graced her from Tangle, wondering what she was up to. She quickly replied, and sent a photo of her design for her friend's opinion. Then she checked the time. Eleven-thirty. Where had the time gone? It was still raining, and much darker than when she'd sat down to work. She shrugged it off and decided to take a much deserved shower.

After a good, long soak it was already gone midnight. Tangle's reply greeted her as she grabbed her mobile on the way to her bed.

'Waaah! It looks fantastic! I can't wait to see it on the rails. Can I get a free one?'

Amy chuckled to herself and typed out her own reply. 'Thanks. Believe it or not, it was Infinite's idea to go with orange. I doubt my client will be giving out dresses for free, but if he sends me one then you can have it by all means.'

Then she muted her phone and set it on her night stand. She pulled back the duvet and looked up at the adjoining room, her 'goodnight' perched on the end of her tongue. The screen was open. Bed made and empty.

Infinite wasn't back yet…

It wasn't the first time he'd gone out, but he was usually back well before she went to bed. And he didn't have any means she could contact him. Should she go out and look? What if Gadget… no. They hadn't heard anything of that wolf since he went AWOL two weeks ago. How could he even know where they'd moved to? Mainframe was massive.

Infinite was probably okay. Besides, he had the Phantom Ruby. He was more than capable of defending himself. If he wasn't back by morning, then she'd worry.

She decided to try and tune it out for a while and clambered under the sheets, tugging them up to her chin. Despite her restless thoughts, exhaustion took over her, and she soon found herself in a dreamy autumn meadow filled with cute little chao and flickies.

...

The results were not looking good.

Silver stood beside Blaze as the rabbit scientist worked away at her brother's body. A screen separated them from the lab, and the hedgehog stood with his hands in his trench coat pockets as he watched through the glass. The lavender cat was looking anywhere else. The wall, the magazines littering the waiting room, the clock, her own phone which Silver had insisted she switch off.

The puzzled look on the scientist's face was what twigged Silver's assumptions that things were not going well. Whatever that was, he itched to know. Did it mean there was no evidence as to what had killed him? Or were there complications? He was willing to bet it was the former. Given how long the cat had been dead, there was unlikely to be any traces of the drug left in his body. Or any poisons. They were beating a dead horse, if one would pardon the expression.

Finally, the scientist looked up and wiped her hands on a wet cloth. She motioned for them to join her in the room, but Silver shook his head and nodded towards Blaze. The nervous cat twitched and turned away from the glass, making her discomfort known.

The rabbit nodded and made her way to them, closing the glass door behind her. She wore a strange expression on her face. One of a mixture of confusion and worry. Maybe even nausea.

"So." Silver turned to her, keeping his hands hidden in his pockets. "What's the outcome?"

She wound her hands together and met the hedgehog's golden eyes. "I think it is fairly safe to say it wasn't the drugs that killed him."

Silver raised an eyebrow and Blaze turned fully to face the scientist.

"Would there be any traces left?" Silver asked. "I mean-"

"Even if there were, it would be pointless to assume it was the drug," said the scientist. "I've… never seen anything like this in all my days working in autopsy."

Blaze moved closer to them and clasped her hands at her chest. "What was it?"

"I'm not sure how to describe this." The rabbit tugged at her left ear and looked back through the window at the autopsy table. "His heart was crushed."

Blaze went pale from ears to tail and her eyes rolled back into her head. Silver twisted to catch her before she hit the floor, carefully lowering her the rest of the way. He turned his head back to the scientist as she crouched down beside them.

"Crushed?" Silver asked.

"I don't understand it," said the rabbit. "There was no sign of any damage to his body. No wounds. No entry points. No blunt trauma. It's as if someone just opened a door in his chest, crushed his heart, then sealed it up perfectly."

Silver made a thoughtful noise and turned back to Blaze, placing a hand on her forehead. Cold. Shock. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed for an ambulance. Not that he felt she needed one, but it was protocol. If he didn't, the receptionist would be on it like a fly on honey.

"Do you think it could be someone abusing their powers?" he asked the scientist.

"I've no idea." She lifted her hands in a shrug. "I'm not an expert on special powers, but… it could be. Someone could have the means to crush something through sheer will alone. You have psychokinesis-"

Silver waved her off, his jaw tightening. "Then I know where to go from here. Anything else you can tell me? Any other damage I need to be aware of?"

"That's it," said the rabbit. "Nothing else. Whether or not the drug killed him, the signs are there that this was a deliberate murder."

Blaze rubbed her head and tried to push herself up. When Silver wouldn't let her, she beat his hands away and propped herself weakly on one arm, trembling.

"What happened?" she muttered.

"You fainted," said Silver.

She shifted towards the chairs and tried to lift herself up. Silver offered her a hand and she settled into one of the cushioned seats, her wide eyes fixed on her fingers as they fiddled with the hem of her dress.

"Someone… someone killed him?" she squeaked.

Silver stared down at her, oblivious to the scientist's hasty 'farewell' as she went back into the autopsy room to finish off her work. The poor cat trembled so violently he thought she might fall off her seat. Her assumption had been right. It was a murder. But it had still come as a shock to her. A murder complicated things. Neither murder nor suicide was easy to deal with, but a murder meant an investigation. The question as to whether or not it was personal. Whether or not Blaze and the rest of her family were safe.

The doors opened and a pair of paramedics rushed into the room, spotting Silver and their patient immediately. Blaze didn't push them away. She was too stunned for that. Any questions she was asked were answered bluntly and somewhat nervously. It was nothing new for paramedics. People fainted in the autopsy rooms every week. Silver was one such patient the first time he'd visited himself.

Once they'd left, assuring Silver there were no complications to Blaze's health, he returned to the cat and shifted uneasily.

"I guess you were right," he said.

"I can't believe it…" She wound her hands together and avoided his stare. "How?"

"That's what I'm paid to find out."

She looked up at him then and sighed. "It's like a nightmare just unfolded before me."

"You'd be surprised how often I get told that." He straightened and looked down at her, meeting her eyes. "I'm going to need access to his room to search it. Can you get me that?"

"Of course." Blaze's legs trembled as she stood, and Silver offered an arm to steady her. She didn't take it. "I can let you in. When do you want to go?"

Silver shrugged. "Now is as good a time as any. I doubt it will be treated as a crime scene? Is it still as it was left?"

"Not quite. The police made a bit of a mess, which my family cleaned up. But they couldn't bare to stick around, so everything is pretty much as it was. They're leaving the clear out until after the funeral."

"It's not a desirable situation." Silver sighed and scratched his head. "But it's as good as any. Let's go. I'll see you home after."

He turned to leave but her voice froze him.

"No."

He looked back at her over his shoulder. "No?"

"I'm helping you." She moved over to him, keeping her hands clasped before her. "I want to help you. Someone killed my brother and I want to know why."

"You'll find out why. But you're not a detective-"

"I don't care. I know more about Ember than anyone. He always confided in me. That's how I knew this couldn't possibly be a suicide. But he never gave me any indication he had any enemies. I can help you. Please? Let me?"

Silver closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine. But things might get messy."

"I can hold my own."

He smiled at that then turned to leave the laboratory. "Okay. But let's hope neither of us need to."

...

**A/N - Review replies!**

**Rycorop - I'm glad you think so! Shadow and Rouge are one of my OTPs XD**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! Please R&R! =D**


	24. Sleepless Chapter 2

**A/N - Thanks so much for all the reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Two

The apartment was spotless, save for a thin coating of dust that had built up over the past two weeks. Evidence the victim's family was too upset to keep things in order, and not quite ready to say 'goodbye' and empty the place out. The entire room was deathly silent, save for the downpour hammering against the bathroom window. A little bit of powder lay over the windowsill and Silver frowned down at it, spyglass clutched in his right hand. Not a single sign of a fingerprint on the windowsill or the items that adorned it. Bottles lined up neatly together without a single blemish on them. Not even Ember's own fingerprints were to be found. Whoever it was either hadn't used the window, or had worn gloves. Or… they'd cleaned up very well. He was beginning to lean towards the latter.

Blaze hadn't been able to enter the bathroom. She remained in the main part of the apartment, and when Silver left the bathroom he found her scrambling over the carpet in search of any hairs that weren't royal purple.

"Any joy?" he asked.

"Nope. The only hairs I can find are my own." She stood up and dusted herself down. "I think it's the stress."

Silver raised an eyebrow and she met his gaze, spreading her arms wide.

"I'm shedding," she said.

Silver shrugged and turned to the bookshelves. "I can't get over how neat this place is. No sign of a struggle at all."

Blaze moved over to his side and shook her head. "I'm as surprised as you are."

He looked up at her then. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he was a slob. Mother was always telling him to tidy his room, and whenever I visited him here there'd be magazines everywhere, things stuffed onto the shelves to make room on the coffee table, movies scattered about the TV-"

"And now it's tidy?"

Blaze shrugged and turned to look around the room, almost as if she was seeing it for the first time.

"Why didn't you think to tell me this when we arrived here?"

"I've been here already," she said. "I was expecting it. I… wasn't sure it was crucial."

"Of course it's crucial," said Silver. "Are you sure no one came in to clear up after they found his body?"

"No one did." Blaze took in a deep, wavering breath. "Dad told me about it when he found him, and we both just guessed he'd cleaned up in preparation to become Mayor. Photos, you know? But if it wasn't him, then who? Mother wouldn't have bothered, believe me. She got tired of cleaning up after him, and she never visited him here on principle. Now she can't even face this place, and I don't blame her. It just feels so weird knowing he died here."

Silver tapped his chin as he looked over the room. Spotless. Ornaments arranged neatly on the shelves. Most of them by size. The bottles in the bathroom… also by size. His eye fell on the book case, crammed with movies and novels. Items he'd often left scattered around the TV, which was now devoid of any sign of clutter.

The hedgehog rushed to the shelves and scanned over the titles. Alphabetical, arranged by genre. And the books… arranged by author. Series set together, in order.

"Did he have any obsessive compulsive tendencies?" Silver asked.

"No. He was pretty relaxed."

Silver looked over his shoulder at the lavender cat and straightened. "I know you're not gonna like me saying this, Blaze. I know they couldn't find any traces of Snowstorm in his blood, but that drug can make you do strange things. He could have-"

"He wouldn't have taken it." She folded her arms and frowned at the room. "The drug, the tidiness… it's all so out of character."

Silver folded his arms and tapped his fingers along one while he surveyed the room again. "So it's out of character… then… what if it's some huge, convoluted clue?"

"What? Like someone who knows him very well wanted to make it obvious it wasn't suicide?"

"Yes." He turned to face her again. "If they wanted to make things seem very out of character for him, then what else could be out of character? Perhaps a movie or a book? Some kind of trinket lying around in this manicured apartment? The fact he was in the bath at all?"

"No, he definitely washed." Blaze scratched between her ears and approached the book case, crouching to get a better view. "And everything on here seems very him. He did like his movies."

Silver left her to it and made his way back to the bathroom. The doorhandles were also free of fingerprints. Odd for something that would be touched so frequently. Whoever had done this had wanted to make it impossible to find them on fingerprints alone. And not a single hair in sight. So why tidy up? Why not leave the place a dump? Unless they'd wanted to make sure every item in the house had been cleaned?

He rushed back towards the bookcase and faltered. Blaze clutched a book in her hands, frowning at the title.

"New book?" Silver's voice came out more hopeful than he'd intended.

"Not quite." She glanced between it and the bookcase. "It was… out of place."

He reached over her shoulder for the book. "It also has a place marker."

Blaze stood as he opened it to the page and she visibly paled. What was being used as a bookmark was a neatly cut slip of paper filled with numbers, each one ascending.

"Page numbers?" she suggested.

Silver removed the slip and turned it over, just to be sure there was nothing on the other side. Finding it blank, he took Blaze's advice, dog-earing the page just in case it was of any relevance. Nothing was on the pages the bookmark may have been referring to, however.

He retired to the sofa and pulled out his pocket computer before giving the numbers a second chance. Blaze perched beside him, watching as he turned to each page and made a note of the first and last words on each one.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"If it is some kind of code," he said, "then it might be pointing out a certain word or letter. First or last seems to make the most sense."

Once he'd done, he sat back and read over the chosen words. He'd made a point of separating both first and last into their own columns. Not a single one of them made any level of sense.

Blaze let out a small gasp and shifted closer to him. "'Moon Street'."

"What?" He glanced at her. "Where did you get that from?"

"The first letters from the top section," she said. "Not… including the last one. The second set doesn't form a word, so… I wonder if that…" She scratched behind her ear and gave a flustered sigh. "There is a Moon Street in the Beatdrop Capital."

"I'm aware."

Silver turned back to the bookmark. The final page number, 624. A date? He brought up his calender and felt his heart sink. If it was a date, then it was two days ago.

Moon street. Twenty-forth of the sixth.

"Have you heard of any other mysterious suicides?" He brought up the website for Beatdrop News.

Blaze twirled her long hair and her eyes grew distant. "I've not been aware of any. Ember was big news, being the Mayor's son. Unfortunately a lot of suicides just get brushed under the rug."

But they didn't go unrecorded. Silver accessed the obituary section and scrolled to the recorded date. Only two deaths. And there was one. Thirty year old woman. Suicide. No details. Silver's heart froze in his chest and he gave Blaze a sideways glance.

"It looks like you might be onto something." He pocketed his computer and pushed himself from his seat. "I'll look into this next suicide and see if there's any link between the two. If there is, I'll contact you."

"No need." She slipped from the sofa. "I'll join you."

Silver's muzzle crinkled and he met her eyes. "No offense, Blaze, but you're not a detective."

"I found that clue, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you knew your brother. You don't know this woman. Do you? A shrew named Crystal?"

Blaze pawed behind her ear and shook her head slowly. "It doesn't ring any bells."

"Could your brother have had anything to do with her?"

"He might have." She lowered her hand and gave a curt nod. "I'll retrieve his phone and find out. Moon Street, right?"

Silver bit his lip and his shoulders sagged. Of course. She knew the street. If she wasn't going to let this go, then he didn't have much choice than to let her tag along. If not, she might end up waltzing straight into danger.

"Okay." He turned towards the front door. "I could probably use an extra pair of keen eyes anyway."

...

Amy blinked her eyes open and stretched, letting out a loud yawn. A solid sleep right through. Bliss. She'd not had a night like that in well over a week.

She kicked her legs out of bed and her ear twitched. The shower was running. She cast a glance towards the screen, now tugged across blocking out Infinite's side of the hotel room. Wet footprints spread across the thin carpet towards it, and the sketchbook he'd borrowed lay on her dressing table, ever so slightly damp.

She leapt to her feet to check over the desk and let out a sigh of relief. Her drawings were okay, neatly set aside to make room for the book. A few water droplets graced the table beside it. He'd not been back long then.

Amy frowned at the closed bathroom door. The only one with a shower was the one on her side, which meant if she needed to use the bathroom while it was occupied then she had to trot through his room to the smaller one. Oh well. Needs must.

A few minutes later, and she was dressed and flicking on the coffee pot. Infinite clambered out of the bathroom, running a towel over his mane. Towels weren't an anomaly in hotels, especially over summer when people preferred to not blast themselves with heat from the fur driers. But the rest of him was pretty much dry and rather fluffy-looking. She turned her attention back to the brewing coffee, taking in the intoxicating scent which was already beginning to blow the cobwebs of sleep away.

"Were you out all night?" she asked.

He grunted and grabbed the mug as soon as it was filled. Amy sighed and reached for another one, setting it loudly in place.

"I fell asleep on a park bench," he said. "Woke up soaked to the bone."

"You could have just come back here," she said. "It would have been a lot drier."

"I didn't have much control over it," he said. "Besides, it wouldn't be a problem if someone didn't keep rationing my meals."

Amy grabbed her mug from the machine and turned to face him. "What, so your narcoleptic now, too?"

"No." He sipped his coffee and leant against the worktop. "I wore myself out practicing."

"I thought you went out to draw?"

"Everyone needs a break."

Amy shook her head and reached into the cupboard, setting a jar of peanut butter beside the jackal.

"I've finished my design," she said.

"I noticed. You went for orange. Told you it would work."

"And you were right. Thanks. If my client likes it, I won't need to ration you for a while." She then added, "Although a little sleep never hurt anyone."

"You've clearly never experienced night frights."

"Have you?"

He slowly licked peanut butter off his fingers while his eye sparkled with amusement. Somehow she didn't think it was a laughing matter. She returned to her bed to tidy it, smoothing out the sheet with all the professional air of a room service maid. Then she spotted her phone on her night stand. Still set to silent, blinking away to display a reply off Tangle.

'What? Infinite came up with that colour scheme? No way! By the way, when do I get to meet this mysterious jackal?'

So she wanted to meet him now? Amy shook her head and set her phone in her dress pocket. She'd come up with some excuse later. It's not as if her friends couldn't travel to the Beatdrop Capital. But she was in no situation to host. She really needed to find a better, more permanent, place to stay.

But first, breakfast was a priority. She grabbed a couple of sweet breads from the cupboard and flopped down at her desk, setting her coffee a good way away from her designs. Then she retrieved her phone and loaded up the news sites. Hopefully somewhere affordable would have popped up overnight.

Infinite leant on the back of her chair and she tried her best to tune him out. It wasn't easy, given she could also see him in the mirror. Fidgeting and rubbing at his shoulders between consuming globs of peanut butter. Her finger hovered over the tab for apartment listings, but one of the news articles drew her eye.

'Child, 7, commits suicide.'

"What? A seven year old?" She tapped on it, bringing up the sad article. The poor child had been found in the early hours of the morning in her back garden. "What reason does a child that young have?"

"Bullies?"

Amy fired a glare at the jackal and took a bite out of her breakfast. She moved on from the article, bringing up the apartment listings. One new. Two bedroom. Just outside the Beatdrop Capital. And it cost almost as much as the hotel room.

She sighed and shut off her screen, tucking the device back into her pocket. Infinite still loomed behind her, close enough for his breath to tickle her ears.

"What do you want?" She turned towards him and he held out the makings of his cyberdreads. "Oh…"

Once he was settled down in her chair, she began sectioning off his mane. All while he finished demolishing his jar of peanut butter. She often wondered how he didn't make himself sick. At least she'd managed to get better food into him when they'd moved into their current hotel room. And he never complained about her cooking.

Her mind often wandered back to the little garden he'd made her before they moved on. A side of him she'd never seen again since. He'd returned to his cold, unreadable, unsympathetic self the second he'd woken up. Cruel. Rude. Offensive. Despite being helpful… at times. She tried not to question it, but she couldn't help but wonder if he blamed her for his passing out. As if it had been her plan all along to abuse his powers and cause him to faint. He'd never offered her again, not that she wanted to use them. Yet for some reason he never tried to just leave her. Did he even still have that photo?

He shifted in his seat, stretching out his left arm across the desk.

"Sit still," she said. "You're making this harder than it needs to be."

He muttered to himself and relaxed into the seat, before attempting to lick the remains of his breakfast from the jar.

She let his mane flow over her fingers. Three ribbons down. Two to go. After two weeks, she'd become pretty proficient at weaving the ribbons through his mane. But his constant shuffling was becoming a bother.

"Is something wrong?" she finally asked.

He grunted and caught her eye in the mirror. "I told you. I spent the night on a park bench."

"Yes. In the rain." She tied off the fifth ribbon and reached for the belts and tubes. "It's little wonder you've not come back with a fever."

"Being in the rain doesn't make you sick. That's a myth." He paused to clean peanut butter off his fur. "Besides, I don't get sick."

"Yet you get a bad back?"

He shrugged and screwed the lid back on the empty jar. "I regenerate well, but I get as overworked or tense as anyone else. I thought the shower might help."

"I'm beginning to think you were doing more than just sleeping on a bench. What were you doing, exactly? Creating giant robots and trying to trash them?"

"I don't try, I succeed."

"Of course you do. What was I thinking?" Amy reached for her coffee then took a step back. "There you go. All done."

He watched her return to the bed and settle back against a pillow, once again reaching for her phone. He stood then stretched, grimacing slightly. Amy lowered her phone and set her coffee on the nightstand.

"I'm probably going to regret this," she said. "But if you want, I can try and sort out your back."

"What? Are you a masseuse now as well as a fashion designer?"

"No. But I can at least try if it's really bothering you."

He glanced between her and the bed, confusion spreading across his face. Then he sighed and waved a hand.

"Whatever," he said. "It's worth a try."

He flopped onto his front on the bed, tucking his head into his arms. Amy blinked a couple of times as she tried to process the situation. With a roll of her eyes, she set her coffee back down and shifted across the bed to his side.

"Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"All over."

"Well, let it be learned not to fall asleep on something so uncomfortable."

"I've slept on harder things."

"What?" Amy asked. "A cold stone slab?"

"Actually, yes."

She decided not to question that. She parted his mane and her hands started to tremble slightly. It wasn't something she'd done before, and she was beginning to wonder why she'd even offered in the first place. To be nice? Or to stop him fussing? He wasn't really one to complain about anything.

She hadn't really seen much of his back due to his long mane. His fluffy white ruff blended into a large white patch that striped off to the sides. It all ended in an odd white tuft at the base of his tail that, if she didn't know any better, looked like one could use it to peel the markings clean off his body.

She rubbed her hands together then slowly rubbed them over his shoulders. He let out a sigh and buried his face further into his arms. Well, at least she was doing something right.

She kept on silently, her mind wandering to various things. Apartment hunting. Sending off her design. Catching up with Tangle and Whisper. But she couldn't help but marvel at the softness of Infinite's fur. She'd often thought the black parts would be somewhat short and wiry, but it was long enough to fluff out between her fingers.

His tail flicked behind her, but if he was irritated he didn't say anything. It was enough evidence he was awake, anyway. As she worked her way back up to his shoulders, her eye fell on his mask. Fastened tightly over his ears. If he'd been complaining his shoulders were stiff, then was that the culprit? She reached into his mane for the clasp and he jerked his head to fix his lone eye on her.

"What are you doing?" His voice was muffled by the bed sheet.

"Removing it," she said.

"No."

"I just want to see if it makes a difference. Don't worry, I'm not going to look at your face."

He swished his tail again, this time with more ferocity. Then he sighed and buried his head back in his arms.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

She unclipped the mask and he shifted to remove it himself, setting it down beside him. He flicked his ears a few times then settled back against his arms. Once he'd relaxed again, she set back to work on his shoulders, making her way to the base of his neck. She considered his jaw for a moment, but given he didn't want her to see his face he probably didn't want her to touch it either.

So instead, she reached for his ears. He tensed slightly, but when she began to massage the backs of them he slumped further into the duvet with a sound that reminded her of a cat's purr. A small smile played at Amy's lips. She shifted closer to him so she wasn't stretching her arms so much. No more tail-flicking. He'd practically melted into the bed.

After a while, his breathing leveled out, and Amy realised with some surprise he'd fallen asleep. She released his ears and stroked her fingers over his mane. He occasionally gave a sound like a soft purr, but that was more likely down to the fact his face was smooshed up against his arms. She let her hand fall into his ruff and found herself playing with his fur.

"I've not been that nice to you, have I?" she asked.

Of course, she got no reply.

"I'm sorry."

She pushed herself up and made her way to the cupboard. Stocked full of peanut butter. Was there some way she could actually make him something? Or would he be pretty annoyed with her for using it? Some kind of cheese-cake-like thing?

She shrugged it off and closed the doors again. First, she needed to send that design off. Her phone could take a suitable photo. Once the email was sent, she could rest easy knowing she'd completed it. And deeply hope her client would accept the design.

It took her a few tries to get a good enough photo, and she watched the little envelope symbol fly off into the Chaos Network. Her client was usually pretty good at getting back to her the same day.

She returned to the kitchen cupboards, but stopped part way when a strange noise came from the bed. Infinite's body jerked as a strangled cough rattled in his throat. She twisted back to the bed and rushed to his side, shaking his shoulder. But it wouldn't rouse him. He was out cold.

Her heart began to race. Was this because of the damage GUN did to his throat? If she didn't move him, she feared he'd choke to death in his sleep. She slipped her hands beneath his chin and tried to lift him.

His ears snapped back against his skull and he let out a panicked yell. His entire body blurred and pain shot through Amy's right shoulder. She yelped and leapt back from him, finding herself staring into the frantic eyes of a manic jackal. He sat on his haunches, digging his claws into the duvet. Teeth bared. Blood dotting his lips. Fur bristled down his spine.

Amy lifted her fingers to her shoulder and her heart froze when they came away bloody. She met Infinite's eyes again, and all mania melted away as his ears drooped to the sides of his head. His jaw fell open slightly as he looked between her shoulder and her shocked face.

"You bit me!" she screamed.

He lifted a hand towards her. "No-"

"You psycho!"

"Amy!"

She rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and turning the lock. She ran the faucet and tugged off a chunk of toilet paper, soaking it then pressing it against her wounded shoulder. Her heart hammered in her chest and she stared back at her pale reflection. Her pupils were like pinpricks.

"Amy, please!" Infinite jiggled the handle then, from the thud, must have leant against the door. "You startled me."

"I don't want to hear it!" she snapped.

"Just open the door!"

"Urgh, I should have known you'd hurt me! It's what you do. You're just a monster!" She tossed the blood soaked tissue into the toilet. "And to think I was just worrying that I hadn't been nice to you!"

A weight tugged at her hands and she stared down to find the familiar chain with its crimson infinity symbols trailing from her wrists until it vanished through the door.

A low growl rose in her throat and she found her mallet in her hands. She stormed to the door and unlocked it, throwing it open behind her. Infinite staggered back from it, his mask now back in place. He looked from her mallet to her and for a moment she thought he was going to disarm her with his disgusting cockroach attack again.

"Let me go, Infinite," she growled.

"Not until you talk to me," he said.

"I have nothing to say to you! Now let me go!"

He leant back against the bed frame and diverted his gaze to the door. The chain remained. Amy gave it a hefty tug, jerking him from the bed. So it worked both ways?

"Remove! The chain!"

"If I remove it, you'll go!"

"Of course I will! You hurt me!"

"You startled me!"

"Oh, so suddenly that's valid?" She stomped her foot. "I thought you were choking to death!"

He rolled his eye and slumped back against the bed frame.

"I told you if you ever hurt me I'd leave," she said. "I'm staying true to my word. Now let me go before I scream the place down!"

It was her only defense. She knew full well how strong he was. Her mallet was nothing, and he wouldn't exactly just stand there and let her clobber him. And he knew full well if she started screaming, GUN agents would be on the place like a ton of bricks.

"You wouldn't exactly miss me," she went on. "You wander off most nights anyway, and I know you'd rather be anywhere else. I'm just a convenience to you. Aren't I?"

He glanced up at her briefly then waved his hand. The chain vanished. With a sigh, he sank against the frame and lowered his head into his hand. Amy huffed and marched over to the wardrobe, stuffing every item of clothing she owned into her small shopping bag. No suitcase. Everything else she owned was tucked away in storage after she'd given up her apartment in Central City.

Where exactly was she going to go now?

She faltered as that thought crossed her mind. Then she shook it off and tugged her bag over her shoulder. She quickly gathered up everything on the desk. Everything except the damp sketchbook.

"The room is paid for until the end of the week," she said. "That should give you enough time to find somewhere else. Or a job or something."

She placed a hand on the front door handle but his words froze her.

"You really think I'm a monster?"

"Only a monster would want to destroy Mainframe." She looked back at him over her shoulder, but he was staring blankly ahead of him. "Now you haven't got an 'annoying pink hedgehog' around to stop you. Go ahead. See where it gets you."

She pulled the door open then let it close behind her on its heavy hinge. Impossible to slam. It would have made a fantastic 'full stop' to her statement.

She faltered by the elevator as the unusual urge to go back into the room warred within her. Had it really been just an accident? Was she overreacting? No… it was the final straw on the camel's back. Everything had piled up on top of her. All she wanted was some peace. To forget the nightmares that had unfolded in Central City. Besides, he could fend for himself. As the elevator's doors opened with its cheery chime, she gave one glance back to her former room then climbed inside.

Back in the room, Infinite clasped his hands over his masked face and fell backwards onto the mattress.

Alone.

It made him feel hollowed out inside.

Given he'd spent most of his life alone, one would think he'd be used to it. But he'd never liked it. Now the hotel room felt oddly claustrophobic and unwelcoming. It had felt a lot brighter when she'd been in it. Now it was just a room. Just one small room in a huge world he didn't belong in.

What was he meant to do now?

...

**A/N - Thanks for reading =D Please R&R!**


	25. Sleepless Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks for all reviews, reads, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Three

It had taken a couple of hours convincing, but Silver had managed to obtain access to the victim's home. A little terraced house near the outskirts of the Beatdrop Capital. The garden was very manicured. Red and white rose bushes dotted the outsides of the lawn, while the grass was trimmed neatly with the odd daisy patch. Hanging baskets perched beside the front door, dry as they hadn't been watered that morning.

Just like Ember's apartment, the place was immaculately tidy. But going off the lawn, one would expect that. If it wasn't for their previous investigation, Silver wouldn't have given it a second thought.

Blaze stood beside him, shifting from foot to foot as she took in the immaculate sitting room. In the far corner was the chair she'd been found in. Fortunately the carpet had been scrubbed clean of any evidence as to how she'd 'claimed her own life'. It had been the only reason no one had run an autopsy.

They were doing now, however. In the meantime, Silver decided to get a head start on the investigation perchance there were any more clues.

But where to start? They didn't know the shrew. And no details that Ember had anything to do with her had popped up in his phone.

Silver tucked his hands into his pockets and strolled through the living room to poke around the rest of the house. Stairs, vacuumed to within an inch of their lives. Skirting boards thoroughly dusted.

He entered the childrens' bedroom. Silent. Almost un-lived in. Toys tucked away in their toy boxes, or neatly arranged on the shelves. A colourful audience of stuffed animals stared down at him, each one arranged by size and species. If it was a sign of the killer, it was rapidly becoming a trademark.

The bed was well made, tucked in at the sides like one might find in a hotel. Not even a spider was tucked away in the corners by the windows. He already felt it would be pointless to check for finger prints. He dusted the windowsill anyway. Nothing.

What did they know about the crime scene? Anything that might point to a break in? The house had been locked. The windows shut. Even the living room door had been closed. Everything the family had recorded when they'd found Crystal dead in her arm chair. Her children had gone off to stay with their grandparents in North Cipher. Apparently it had come as a surprise. Crystal had shown no signs she was unhappy. She worked part time so she had time to spend with her children. Where her husband was, that went unrecorded.

Could it be him?

No… why would he have killed the Mayor's son? Unless there was some link they were missing.

"Silver?"

The hedgehog looked up from the windowsill to the open door. Blaze was still downstairs. He joined her in the living room, but her back was to him. Her attention was trained on the coffee table.

"Have you found something?" he asked.

"This book."

"Another book?" He joined her side and frowned down at the book open on the table. "I don't see anything."

"It was open to this page," she said.

A children's book. A young girl falling down a rabbit hole. Nothing about it seemed remotely suspicious.

"Maybe Crystal had been reading it?"

"Possibly." Blaze scratched her ear and glanced towards the kitchen. "But there's a set of playing cards laid out on the kitchen worktop. All hearts."

Silver grimaced and shifted his weight to one leg. "That's rather morbid given the circumstances."

"It all fits," said Blaze. "Think about it. Her garden. Red and white rosebushes. The playing cards in the kitchen. Go and see for yourself if you don't believe me."

He didn't need telling twice. There they were, fanned out neatly on the kitchen worktop. Ordered from Ace to King. And behind them stood a teapot.

"Okay." He strolled out from the kitchen, hands in his pockets. "Either the victim seriously likes Alice in Wonderland, or it's a clue. But to what?"

His phone rang, almost causing him to leap out of his skin. He tugged it out of his inside pocket and checked the number. The autopsy lab. Already?

He answered it and gave a quick 'hello'. Blaze stared back at him as the woman on the other end relayed the results to him, her voice wavering slightly. Silver thanked her and lowered his phone to his side, eyes wandering from the open book to the kitchen and back.

"It's the same," he said. "Heart crushed. No sign of any injury whatsoever, besides… well…" He lifted his arms. "The 'disguise'."

Blaze took in a shaky breath and turned to face him. "Do you think the card suits are to point out how he's killing people? Could it be… a target number or something?"

"No, that's too obvious," said Silver. "If he left one clue to point to his next target, then he might be leaving something to point to the one that will follow this."

"But what does Alice in Wonderland have to do with anything?"

"A rabbit?" Silver shrugged. "I've no idea. Is there an address like last time?"

"I didn't see anything." Blaze returned to the book and flicked through the pages. "No bookmark. Nothing written on the pages."

"I'll check the playing cards."

He flicked over each one, but they were free of any blemish. The teapot didn't bring up anything suspicious either. Its only contents were a couple of tea stains. For good measure, he checked over all the teacups. Then he returned to the childrens' room.

A white rabbit. Was there one? He frowned at the colourful stuffed animals. If anything, the only animal they were missing was a rabbit.

A rabbit…

He pulled out his phone and loaded up the Beatdrop news site. It was almost out of habit. He'd already checked it that morning, searching for anything that might have pointed to a killer. But one article stood out to him this time.

'Child, age 7, commits suicide.'

A white rabbit. A little girl. Cause of death - fell from her bedroom window. He almost dropped his phone as he recalled the page the book had been left open at. Alice, falling down the rabbit hole.

He rushed back down the stairs shouting for Blaze.

...

Something didn't smell right. The doorway to the rundown warehouse usually smelled damp, but now there was a hint of oil in the air. Rouge's large ears twitched and she clutched tightly to her knapsack as she strained to hear beyond the door. It was rapidly becoming darker, and a fine drizzle filled the air, soaking through her fur. Then she heard it. The distant thrumming of chopper blades.

She ducked into the warehouse, ears forward, as she made a beeline for the little room her and Shadow had been holed up in for the past three days. The sharp tang of oil grew stronger and something crunched beneath her boot. She paused to examine it and kicked aside the cracked shell of a Grade Two SWAT 'bot.

"Shadow?!" The words left her mouth without her permission as her heart lurched into her chest.

Crimson eyes locked on hers from the little room and she let out a small sigh of relief. The room was littered with robot remains and puddles of greasy oil, and cowering against the wall was a small bobcat. Shadow held the GUN soldier's rifle against the trembling feline's throat, not a single hint of remorse on the hedgehog's face.

"What took you so long?" Shadow spat, although his eyes were back on the soldier.

"I'm sorry." Rouge adjusted her bag and took a few steps towards him, cautiously glancing over the trashed robots. "We should move. Let the cat go."

"Please." The bobcat closed his eyes and a lone tear trailed down his cheek. "I'm just doing my job."

Rouge's heart went out to the soldier. She knew it all too well. A newbie, sent out because they showed promise. A chance to prove themselves. Allied with a robot or two, who weren't just allies. They were his friends. But instead of succeeding, he'd found himself in a situation he had no way to prepare for. She gave another glance at the remains. It was impossible to say how many robots were even with him, but there would be no way to repair them now. Maybe he could salvage their personality and memory chips?

She placed her hand on the rifle and lowered it, drawing a furious glare from Shadow.

"Just let him go," she said. "He won't be chasing after us."

"I can't just let him go, Rouge," said Shadow. "He'll just come looking for us."

"I won't," said the soldier. "Please…"

"I'm sick of this!" Shadow jerked the gun back up towards the bobcat's head, causing him to screw his eyes shut and let out a weak whimper. "I'm sick of you lot chasing me! What did you even bother creating me for?!"

Rouge placed a firm hand on the hedgehog's shoulder. "Shadow, please!"

With a roar, Shadow tossed the gun aside into a stack of crates. A loud bang left it, stunning Rouge's ears. A small bullet pinged off the stone and she ducked as it went whizzing over her head. The heat skimmed the tips of her ears and she tugged them flat against her skull. She fixed wide eyes on Shadow who met her gaze briefly. Concerned, then relieved. He stumbled back from the soldier and clasped his hands over his face.

The bobcat sobbed a few times as he sank down against the wall onto his bottom.

Rouge moved towards the hedgehog and took hold of his arm. "Let's get out of here." She then turned to the soldier. "You might want to resign."

The bobcat didn't reply. He wasn't looking at either of them anymore. He grabbed a scrap of metal in his trembling hands and pulled it onto his lap, his yellow eyes sparkling with tears.

Shadow pulled Rouge into himself and the room vanished around them to be replaced by the Beatdrop Capital's main street. A few gasps of alarm came from the late night commuters, and a small mouse quickly sidestepped them. Rouge looked from the rodent's slack-jawed face to Shadow.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

Shadow looked as stunned as she was. He shook his head and rushed her after him into a narrow side street.

"What happened?" Rouge said as they came to a stop. "There was no computer code this time. Or a tunnel, or…"

She drifted off as a strange red haze caught her eye. Shadow stared down at his hands as the energy faded from them, then turned his attention back to the busy street. Rouge followed his gaze, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. People had returned to their normal day, walking back and forth as they made their way to their various destinations. No concern shown for the fugitives lurking in the doorway to a closed bakery in the narrow street.

Yet there was something in Shadow's eyes. A longing. Rouge gave herself a mental shake and nudged his shoulder.

"Shadow, what was that? It wasn't the Chaos Network."

"I don't know." He finally turned back to her, but avoided her stare, instead fixing on the brick wall behind her. "I normally have more accuracy than that, I…" He rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. "I don't know what's happening."

"This hasn't happened before, has it?"

When he didn't answer, she folded her arms and moved closer to him.

"Shadow, if something's happening to you, I want you to tell me. How long has this been going on?"

He looked up then, but his right ear twitched. A grunt came from the end of the street, away from the main road. She turned her head towards it and her heart froze in her chest. Something… or someone… lumbered towards them. She couldn't see their face. It was entirely encased in what looked like a metal box with blinking lights on the sides. Their right arm ended in a strange contraption with long, blade-like claws that glinted in the neon lights.

The creature froze and their shoulders rose and fell as if they were panting with exhaustion. Then they ran. Straight towards her and Shadow.

Rouge let out a squeal and beat her wings, rising into the air. Shadow had already vanished, the faint halo of light forming a perfect image of him where he'd been standing. It vanished just as quickly as he reappeared behind the creature. He struck them in the back of the head with a crescent kick, sending them sprawling face first onto the concrete. The blade-like claws scraped up sparks, peppering the creature's creamy fur. But they didn't care. They scrambled back to their feet and, with a roar, lashed out at Shadow.

He vanished again, narrowly missing the creature's cleaving blades. Rouge leapt in, landing a spinning kick to the beast's helmet. She flinched as her feet struck metal, sending a shockwave up her legs. But the creature wasn't fazed. It turned towards her, grunting, flexing its claws. Both metal and natural. It lifted its metal arm, its long blades glinting in the streetlight.

"Rouge! Move!"

The lights along the creature's helmet flickered erratically. Then it shook its head from side to side and rushed the wall, smashing into it. Sparks flew out behind it as it scraped the helmet along the bricks, twisting and groaning like something in pain.

Shadow appeared again, landing a hard blazing kick to the creature's back. It folded like a lawn chair and crumpled to the floor, roaring with frustration.

Shadow took Rouge's hand and bolted down the street, his feet gliding as his skates picked up momentum. Rouge had to use her wings to keep up, her breath coming in heavy bursts as they desperately tried to put as much space between them and the mutant beast as possible.

Shadow stopped beside a manhole cover and lifted it off, ushering Rouge ahead of him. He dropped down beside her, letting the lid clatter back in place. Their feet echoed over the iron grate as they moved back from the ladder, keeping a watchful eye on the manhole cover.

"What on earth was that?" Rouge gasped. "Do you think it was that jackal that got out?"

"No," said Shadow. "It was the wrong shape for a jackal. I'd say it was a skunk, or something similar."

"What was wrong with them? Do you think they need help?"

Shadow rounded on her and pointed towards the ladder. "Neither of us are going back there! That thing wanted blood!"

Rouge clasped her hands at her sides, meeting the hedgehog's crimson stare. "You're right. They were psychotic. But I think they're in pain."

"I'm not letting you go back there." He gave one last glance to the metal lid then turned away from it. "Come on. We'll let GUN deal with it. Maybe it'll keep them off our backs for a little while."

"We can't just leave it like that! What if it kills someone?!"

"Then GUN will have their hands full."

She sighed and shook her head before trotting along after him. Whatever that beast was, it was too much for them both to handle. If it hadn't charged the wall she might have found herself skewered like a kebab on its massive blades.

Compared to the streets, the sewers were almost silent. The skittering of tiny rat paws and the soft gurgle of water flowing through the pipes could be heard over the faint voices and rumble of hover-car engines above them. They strolled on in silence, their shoes clattering over the iron grates, as they wound their way through the Beatdrop Capital's underbelly.

When the path widened enough, Rouge trotted to join Shadows' side. "So are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That red glow, Shadow. And the random teleporting?"

"Like I said." He moved on ahead of her, ducking into another tunnel. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So you don't know what's happening? Fifty years, and this had never happened before?"

He looked back at her then, and she stood up straight as she joined him on the other side of the tunnel. His eyes softened and he let out a small, silent sigh.

"It's been happening for a few days," he said. "I'm trying not to worry about it."

"A few days?! And you never thought to tell me?"

"It's not a big deal."

"It is if something about you is changing!" She paused and rubbed a hand over her ears. "You might need help. Are any of your old scientists still alive?"

"They all died in the explosion." He turned his back on her and marched on ahead. "I'm fine. Now drop it."

She bit back the urge to tell him he wasn't fine and shook her head. A few days… that meant it had started shortly after they got ambushed by those GUN soldiers and Metal Sonic in the park. Was there something in that tranquilizer dart? That had long since been disposed of. There'd be no way of her finding out. Unless she could get her hands on that fox and quiz him about it? She wouldn't put it past GUN to throw a spanner in the works to try and draw their targets to them, or weaken them. If it had caused his teleporting to become inaccurate, there was every chance he'd find himself walking straight into one of GUN's labs.

She would just have to hope it would never come to that. She trotted to catch up with him again, deciding to change the subject. But it was clear he didn't want to talk about anything. The entire situation was clearly playing on his mind. Maybe, when he next decided to have a good sleep, she could slip out and find that two-tailed fox and find out what on earth they'd put in that little dart.

...

The pulsing sub woofers of Baseline City faded rapidly into the distance as Infinite made his way back through the Beatdrop Capital. He dribbled a tin can between his feet, lost in his own thoughts. The vibrant colours and noisy game arcades of Mainframe's major entertainment district had done little to clear his head.

He didn't want to go back to the hotel room. It felt cold and unwelcoming. Funny, given how most places had felt cold and unwelcoming his entire life. It had never bothered him before, he'd just rolled with it. So why did it bother him now? Since when had he become so reliant on another being?

He gave the tin can a hefty kick, sending it bounding along the street. Then he ran after it, causing a group of curious teenage punks to veer aside, watching him with avid amusement. He slowed, catching the soda can under his boot to turn a corner onto a side street. Much more silent. Much less populous. He continued his idle dribbling as his thoughts rambled on. Wandering to Amy. Had she gone back to Central City? It seemed an odd choice, given how adamant she'd been to leave the place. But without that chain, he really didn't know where she was.

Why was he so bothered about what that pink hedgehog was up to anyway? He didn't need her, and she didn't need him. Gadget was gone. Project Wreckingball was over. All that was left now was for Infinite to wipe out Eggman, or all of Mainframe if he had to. There was nothing left for him here. He was just an alien in a world that didn't want him.

He nudged the soda can onto his boot then punted it across the road. It landed with a clatter in a trash can, stirring up a couple of dozy flies. It was a good way of punctuating his point. If he wanted out of Mainframe, he'd need to destroy it first. Then find a way back to his own reality. If that was even possible.

Almost sixty years had passed. Who would even still be alive? They'd likely all be old. Weak. Useless. And no matter where he ended up, he'd still be alone. The only one who'd remain unchanged was Shadow.

His fur bristled down his spine and he realised all too late he'd been growling. He quickly stifled it and gave a nonchalant glance to the couple strolling past him across the road. The male looped his arm around his partner's shoulders and steered her quickly onto the main street.

Infinite rolled his eyes and continued his walk to nowhere. His strength was waning. How? He'd barely even used his powers that night. He found his mind wandering to the store of peanut butter back at the hotel. Was it really worth going back for that?

Either way, he found himself following the narrow street back towards it. He trailed his fingers along the brick wall, humming softly to himself. Then something caught his eye. Claw marks littering the floor. Deep ones, as if they'd been dug up by a blade. Three blades, neatly in a row.

His tail swished from side to side as he stared at them. Too familiar. No… it was impossible. It was just a robot. Mainframe was filled with robots. But which ones were armed with claws like that? Metal Sonic was much too small, and he would have left more than three deep rivets in the concrete.

And the brickwork.

Infinite took a step back as he scanned over the narrow street. Scuff marks. Deep rivets. Missing chunks of brick and mortar. What on earth had happened here?

A low chuckle left his throat and he lowered his head to scratch beneath his mask. Oh, this was getting interesting.

He followed the trail along the narrow street and into an alleyway. The overflowing skips heaped their burden onto the floor as it flowed free from slashes in the trash bags. Infinite side-stepped the mess, sniffing at the air. But all he could smell was rotting garbage. No… not just garbage. Skunk.

He crept slowly along the road like a lion stalking its prey. He barely even breathed. All focus on the shadows and the run-down buildings and closed stores along the alley.

Grunting. And something akin to a roar.

Infinite froze, turning his head towards the back entrance to a bar. It was closed. Odd, at this hour. Glass littered the concrete beneath a shattered window, and fresh blood and cream fur marred the jagged edges. He kept himself low to the ground as he rushed towards it, then peered into the bar. Tables and chairs lay scattered, and the bar was torn to shreds. No lights were on. If it had been open, then people had fled. But how many would have made it out alive? Maybe the bar was abandoned. One could hope.

Blue lights flickered in the shadows, and a crimson slit of light leered back at him, meeting his lone eye. He bared his canines, letting out a low growl. The beast in the shadows returned it, then leapt towards him in a roaring mass of metal and fur.

Infinite burst through the window, meeting the skunk head on. He channeled the Phantom Ruby into his fists and struck the creature in the gut. It flew back from him, crashing through the remains of a table.

Project Wreckingball pushed itself up, its body trembling with the effort. The blue lights on its helmet flickered erratically, and its eye piece seemed to leer at him side-on.

Infinite balled his hands into fists, his breath coming in heavy bursts. Crimson energy flowed around him, forming little cubes almost of its own accord. All he could see was red. Why was this thing still alive? And what was it doing hanging around the Beatdrop Capital? Hadn't they left it behind at the isolated prison?!

He launched himself towards it, vanishing in a flurry of computer code. He reappeared above it, and his boot connected with its helmet. It struck the floor face first with a grunt. Then it twisted, cleaving at him with its claws. Its right hand had been completely replaced by a robotic limb.

Infinite vanished as its claws slashed through where he'd been hovering. He appeared again on its chest, digging his own claws into its thick, furry throat.

"Where's Gadget?" he growled. "Surely you wouldn't be here alone, would you? Or have you bailed on your master?"

He spat the last word, peppering the skunk's helmet with spittle. It leant back, kicking out at him with its legs. Infinite went careening back from him and came to an abrupt halt in the air.

A barrage of crimson cubes left him, forming sharp blades. They sliced at the beast, carving up blood and fur. It howled and shook its head, crashing its helmet against the chairs, walls, tables… anything it could get at. What was left of the bar shattered as it crashed through it head first. Sparks flew as it collided with metal, striking the florescent light above it. It exploded into frail pieces of glass with an almighty bang. Then Project Wreckingball rounded on Infinite, flying at him with its claws bared.

Infinite hadn't been expecting it. Too fixated on the skunk's sudden confusing outburst. He strafed away but it brought its robotic fist around into his side. Pain exploded through his body as two of its blades sliced right through him. It dragged them back, letting him crash to the floor with a grunt. Blood flowed out from the wounds to form a crimson puddle around him.

His breath rasped as he pushed himself up, clasping his gloved hand to his side. Project Wreckingball let out a howl and rushed him, its bloody claws glinting in the low streetlight.

Pink mist swirled around Infinite and he vanished, leaving the mad skunk to cleave at thin air.

When he manifested again, he was crouching beside a cold, stone wall. Blood still flowed freely from his side, and it was becoming difficult to breathe. But his regeneration had already kicked in, knitting together the most important parts first. He staggered to his feet, propping himself up against the wall. Where was he?

He glanced behind him at the building. A little neon pink sign hung from it. The hotel? He'd not been aiming for it. But it had been on his mind. Maybe he was getting better at this mist-warping?

The pain dulled as the wounds zipped up. The only evidence he'd been injured was the blood marring his fur all down his left side, leg, and the base of his tail. He rolled his head back against the wall, still breathing heavily. That brief fight had done a number on him. Why was he so exhausted? He gave another glance to the neon sign and pushed himself back from the wall.

"Well, well. If it isn't Infinite."

A chill ran down Infinite's spine, causing his entire back to stiffen. He turned his head towards the voice and his lips pulled back of their own accord. A familiar red wolf strolled from the shadows. No longer sporting a lab coat. That had been discarded in favour of a long leather trenchcoat fastened at the waist by a belt.

Infinite pressed his back up against the wall as Gadget approached him. It was near impossible to summon the strength to attack. He scanned his lone eye over the wolf, looking for any sense of fear. He saw none.

"So here you are, lurking around the Beatdrop Capital." Gadget shrugged his shoulders and tutted. "It's not been easy to find you. I'll give it that." He gave a quick glance up and down the street. "No one to help you this time either? Interesting."

"Why are you so obsessed with finding me?" Infinite spat. "You already have your pet project. Oh wait…" He chuckled and waved a hand towards the quiet street. "It's running rampant in some back alley. Lose control of it, did you? And you had such faith in that harness-"

His words cut off as something pressed against his chest. Gadget gave a small smirk as he knocked the safety off his gravity gun, causing Infinite's fur to prickle down his back. Any other time he'd have reduced it to nothing. Yet for some reason, he couldn't find the strength to do so.

"The point is, jackal," Gadget said slowly, "I have found you. And you'd be best off coming with me. I sincerely doubt even you could survive if your heart was reduced to pulp. Do you?"

Infinite bared his canines and clenched his fists at his sides. "Forget it. I'm not about to become your mindless puppet."

"Really?" Gadget feigned disappointment and nudged the gun against his chest. Infinite didn't even flinch. "Well, it would be a pity to kill you. You're much more use to me alive. Maybe you'd be singing a different tune if it was your little girlfriend's life at stake?"

Infinite's fist connected with Gadget's jaw, sending the wolf soaring away from him. He landed in a sprawl on the floor, and his gravity gun skittered away along the gutter. A lone candy wrapper found itself caught in its misfire and fluttered in the air for a while before the beam petered out.

Infinite shook his fist, muttering under his breath. No Phantom Ruby to aide him there. That had been all him, and it had taken him by surprise. He'd been rather out of practice after being locked up for the better part of six decades.

"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" he growled.

Gadget pushed himself up, wiping blood from his muzzle with the back of his black glove. He reached for his gun, but Infinite brought his boot down on his hand. Gadget stifled a howl, his face creasing with the effort.

"You're useless without your weapons," Infinite spat. "But me? Back in my world, long before I got the Phantom Ruby, I learned how to fight without them. You're nothing but a maggot, wolf. Pathetic. Weak." He ground his boot into his wrist, causing Gadget to grunt with pain. "You're nothing."

Infinite jumped as something pricked his right leg. He stumbled back from Gadget, catching a glance of his smirking face.

"Did you also have both eyes?" the wolf asked.

Infinite turned his head fully to his leg. The pain had gone, but sticking out of it was the red tuft of a tranquilizer dart.

No… He had to get out of there.

His eyes began to fog over and he took a couple of steps backwards, watching as Gadget pushed himself to his feet and retrieved his gun.

Two firm hands grabbed Infinite by the shoulders and he found himself twirled aside.

"Get out of here, Infinite."

His jaw went slack as a well-dressed platypus strolled past him. Starline? Gadget's expression turned livid as his full attention went to his former rival. It was contrasted by Starline's calm demeanor as he stopped a couple of feet from the wolf, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He turned his head slightly to smile at the jackal.

Infinite didn't need telling twice. He knew full well the tide of battle had changed against him. He closed his eyes briefly and let his entire body succumb to the pink mist. When it faded, he found himself back in the hotel room with his back to the window.

Weak… why was he so weak? How couldn't he have seen that sneaky trick coming?

All strength left him and he sank down against the wall into a heap on the floor.

...

Gadget spat bloody spittle onto the tarmac and cocked his gun towards Starline.

"You let him get away!" Gadget snapped.

"Of course I did." Starline shrugged.

"You had no right to intervene in this, Starline! He's my project, not yours!"

"Project indeed," Starline spat. "I wasn't about to let you have your way with him, now, was I? I always questioned your warped ideas."

"As if you didn't want to use him to get rid of Eggman, either! Or were you always a fan of that deranged doctor?"

"I'd watch what you're saying around here, Gadget." A smile spread across Starline's beak. "The drones might be listening."

Gadget cast a quick glance around him, then his eyes settled on the blue probing light of a Strider Drone beyond the low buildings ahead of him.

"Why are you really here?" he asked Starline. "It's clearly not to apprehend Infinite."

"I noticed some strange… events… unfolding on the drone footage," Starline explained. "Metal Sonic found himself face to face with a rampaging monster. It leapt out of nowhere, interrupting his mission. The helmet it was wearing looked shockingly familiar. So I thought I'd come and check it out. I had my suspicions it would lead me to you. And lo-and-behold, here you are, interrogating Infinite yet again."

"Oh come on! You're just gonna let that mad jackal roam free?"

"Yes. He's Eggman's problem now. It's up to him to decide what becomes of Infinite. Not you. You lost your job when your rogue band of GUN agents were disbanded. Now you're nothing but a criminal."

"So what? You're going to turn me over to Eggman?" Gadget's eyes narrowed and he lifted his gun slightly. "Because I know where you allegiance really lies."

"Oh no, Gadget. You only think you know. That's exactly why you 'retired' me."

Gadget pulled the trigger, sending out a blue beam. Starline stepped aside and waved the hand baring his Warp Topaz. A wormhole opened where he'd been standing, consuming the gravity beam. It re-emerged behind Gadget, trapping him in its field. The wolf yelped as he was suddenly suspended in mid-air.

Starline tutted as he moved towards him and reached out for the gun. He plucked it from Gadget's hands and the beam cut off, sending the wolf to the floor with a grunt.

The platypus turned the gun in his hands until he spotted the dial on the back. He tutted again and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Typical," he said. "You've gone and turned my creation into a torture device."

"I improved it," Gadget spat.

"If you say so." Starline tossed the gun to land once again in the gutter. He then stooped so he was eye-level with Gadget. "I've got my eye on you. And your little skunk pet."

Gadget's brow furrowed and he pushed himself back to his feet.

Starline tucked his hands behind his back and took a few steps away from him. "I've got eyes all over this city. And soon, all over Mainframe. Nothing you do can escape my sights. The Big Bad Wolf will soon become nothing more than a little pup running from Eggman's drones. Desperate not to be hunted and mounted on his wall."

Gadget aimed his gun again and fired, but all it let out was a muffled click. He stared down at it, dumbfounded, then looked back up at the platypus.

Starline grinned from ear to ear and waved his Warp Topaz, creating another wormhole. "I'll be watching, Gadget. You get to see some interesting things when you have access to so many eyes."

Gadget let out a chuckle and lowered his weapon. "So you're just going to let me go? I thought Eggman classified that as 'treason'. If you can see all of the Beatdrop Capital, surely he can, too?" He waved a hand towards the Strider Drone vanishing beyond the skyscrapers.

"Oh yes. Yes he can. But those eyes aren't on me. I've made sure of that. My reason for leaving you here is simple. Something is happening in this city, and I want to see how it plays out before I turn your pathetic tail over to Eggman. Besides?" Starline raised his hands in a shrug. "Who exactly is going to tattle on me? You?"

He stepped backwards into the wormhole, giving a playful wave. It closed up behind him, leaving Gadget standing in the gutter.

...

**A/N - Please R&R! =D**


	26. Sleepless Chapter 4

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

**As far as typical cyberpunk goes, this is a bit of a slow burn. I've also added a LOT of potential suspects to this story for you to mull over. But one of them is the killer. The question is 'which'? **

**Writing this was a lot of fun, and I hope you're enjoying! =D**

Chapter Four

It had taken a couple of days to convince the child's parents that her death may actually have been a murder. Apparently a book with a vague allusion to her cause of death wasn't solid evidence to support Silver's theory.

Snow had been found face down in their back garden. She had sported broken bones from her injury in her neck and back, and a dislocated left shoulder. Nothing on her legs, suggesting she'd fallen head first. Her bedroom door had been barricaded by her dresser, which had surprised her parents as she was only seven years old. But it wasn't an unusually heavy item of furniture, and a determined child could certainly have moved it.

Both her parents had been out at the time, leaving her in the care of her grandmother who had fallen asleep on the sofa. She'd heard nothing. Silver had suspected chloroform. The elderly rabbit had fallen asleep, and someone had sprayed the stuff around her or managed to get her to inhale it without suspicion.

It was only after their third conversation when something twigged in the parents' minds. They'd rang him, that time. Snow's room was immaculate. Not oddly so, as she was a tidy child. That's how it had slipped under their radar. The similarities to the previous crime scenes was uncanny. Everything had been tidied up and organized. Stuffed animals and dolls arranged by size. Windows and surfaces scrubbed clean so not a fingerprint remained. Not even from the child herself. If there were no fingerprints on the windowsill, then how had she managed to climb from it? One theory had suggested she'd jumped clean from the window without touching anything. It had been found wide open. But that was just silly. Silver was convinced she'd been thrown from it. Yet her body lacked any sign of DNA that wasn't her own or her parents'.

Both adult rabbits feared they might be suspected of her death, but Silver assured them that wouldn't be the case. Not unless the evidence went wildly against them. Blaze had scolded him for that.

The four of them had searched the room for anything that might have been out of the ordinary. Anything that might have pointed them to a clue to the child's killer, or towards who was being targeted next.

Nothing.

No strange books. No cryptic puzzles. Nothing tucked away in any of the drawers. Nothing written on the windows when Blaze attempted to mist it over.

When asked what the child's interests were, her parents could have spoken for hours. Dolls and stuffed animals were a big one. Reading. Playing outside and exploring woodlands. She loved animals, and wasn't much for TV unless it was a nature documentary or a cartoon.

Blaze was rummaging under the bed while Snow's parents relayed everything they possibly could about their daughter. When Blaze clambered back out with a strange headset clasped in her hands, the bedroom fell into a momentary silence.

A virtual reality machine. One equipped with a computer and a game cart loaded in place. A pretty retro design that dated back thirty or so years. No one had seen a game cart since.

"Is this yours?" Silver had asked her parents.

They shook their heads, baffled as to where it had even come from. Not one of them owned a games machine. Her father didn't have time, and Snow wasn't even interested in them. At least, that was what they had always thought. There was every possibility she could have borrowed it.

Silver claimed it as potential evidence, but yet again it bore no fingerprints. Not from Snow, not from her parents, nor anyone else.

The game loaded inside was the first in the Assassin Strike series. An action game where the player character took on the role of an assassin who's goal was to stop an evil dictator ruling their country. Combined with everything they now knew about the little rabbit's interests, it was safe to say Snow would have had no interest in it. It was an anomaly in a colourful, girly room filled with dolls and plush animals. So her parents agreed to have an autopsy to see if her death really was related to the previous killings.

Silver wasn't sure which outcome her parents wanted. Knowing a killer was out there, and had targeted their daughter, was as much a nightmare to them as their original suspicions.

The hedgehog turned the virtual reality device in his hands and leant back in his chair. The only sounds filling his office was the traffic milling back and forth. Blaze hadn't shown up that morning. She'd decided to look into all suicide cases prior to her brother's death. Not that they'd be able to run any autopsies. But surely family or friends would be able to key them into what the scene looked like? If there were any similarities to the killer's trademark tidiness then they could work out how long this had been going on for. Maybe even find some clues that would lead them to the next target, if possible.

Blaze… she'd been nothing short of useful in his investigations. Her keen eye had drawn them to every clue so far. That is, if the virtual reality machine was a clue. But if so, what did it mean? Was the next target the man behind the device? Or the game? Or were they in some way related to the game? An animator? Scene designer? The story writer?

His phone began to ring and he dropped the game so he could answer it. The autopsy lab. The woman on the other end sounded rather distressed. Her voice wavered and it sounded like she hadn't slept in a while.

Snow's true cause of death had been confirmed. Another crushed heart. No scars. No evidence as to how the killer had even accomplished it. But it was definitely being done by someone, or something.

Silver's blood turned cold as he looked back at the virtual reality machine. They really were dealing with a serial killer. A cunning one. And whoever it was had every intention in messing with the investigator's head.

A game. A sick game. These were peoples' lives this maniac was messing with. It made Silver's blood boil.

...

A long, stripy tail poked out from among a neat pile of boxes. Its contents had spilled over at some point during Amy's journey from Central City back to the Beatdrop Capital. She stood back and watched helplessly as her friend quickly stuffed the various ribbons and buttons and other embellishments back into the cardboard box. There wasn't enough room for both her and Tangle in the back of the van. The slightly lop-sided wardrobe had made sure of that.

"There we go!" The eccentric lemur stood up straight, clutching the box in her arms. "Everything's back in! Although we might find a button or two later, but eh! It doesn't matter. Moving house is messy, after all."

"I'm just grateful for your help." Amy took the box and stood back so Tangle could grab another. "Both you and Whisper."

As if on cue, the dainty wolf dropped from the driver's seat and closed the door behind her. She had barely reached the back of the van before she found a box loaded into her arms by Tangle. Whisper's usually narrowed eyes shot wide open as she almost buckled under its weight.

"Think you can carry that into the kitchen?" Tangle asked as she climbed back into the van. "It's utensils and pans and all that jazz."

"You don't say…" Whisper's voice was so quiet Amy was convinced Tangle hadn't heard her.

Nevertheless, the wolf complied, making her way into the apartment block. The door had been held open by a little sand-filled puppy Tangle had found stuffed in the back of Amy's wardrobe. A forgotten birthday present from long ago, from who, Amy just couldn't remember.

With her own box clutched in her arms, Tangle joined Amy on the street and flicked the doors shut with her tail.

"I can't believe you're moving so far away!" she said as she followed Amy into the apartment block. "I understand it, but still! What's gonna happen to our weekly girls' nights?"

"They might not be as frequent," said Amy. "But you can always take the train. The journey isn't even an hour."

"I guess! But you don't even have any friends in the Beatdrop Capital, do you? Won't you get lonely?"

They clambered into the elevator and Tangle pushed the button for the fifth floor with her tail.

"We've been over this a billion times," said Amy. "I'll be fine."

"Darn straight, you'll be fine!" said Tangle. "Because I'm staying with you for a few days while you get settled."

"Do I get a say in the matter?" Amy asked.

"Nope!"

The elevator let them out in a clean, warm corridor. The third door along was already open, and they found Whisper in the kitchenette setting up Amy's little coffee machine.

"Priorities eh?" Tangle dropped the box of books beside the kitchen bar.

Whisper nodded as she plugged the utensil into a wall socket.

"So are you in?" Tangle asked the wolf. "I'm gonna stay with Amy a while and you'll be joining us too, right?"

Whisper looked up with a start and let out a long 'uhm…'

"Really, you don't have to," said Amy.

"Oh come on!" Tangle leant on the bar, her long tail swishing behind her, completely ignoring the pink hedgehog. "A journalist isn't tied down to just one place! You might find somethin' to report on here, right? It'll be fun!"

Whisper chuckled and turned back to the coffee machine. "Okay… I'm in."

A small smile spread across Amy's muzzle and she set the box of 'buttons and things' just inside a small room. One she'd picked out to be her studio.

"Thanks, guys," she said. "I really do appreciate it. But I don't want to be a burden. Whisper might be okay, but what about you, Tangle? What about the restaurant?"

Tangle leant with her back against the bar and waved a hand. "Ah! They can do without me for a few days. I'm sure they'll understand."

"Unless they fire you," said Amy.

"Then great! I'll just move in here with you."

Amy laughed and shook her head. "I think you just have some long-term plan to glue yourself to my hip."

"Sisters forever, Amy!" Tangle followed Amy and Whisper back out into the corridor. "So what became of that handsome jackal, then? Any news?"

Amy's spine stiffened and she slinked slowly into the elevator. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"You've kept quiet about it for the past three days!" Tangle groaned. "I want news! What happened between you two?"

"We fell out. That's all you need to know."

Tangle looked up at Whisper and winked. "Lover's spat."

Amy's cheeks heated up and she rounded on Tangle. "We weren't an item! Urgh." She sank back against the mirrored wall of the elevator. "It's no use convincing you two, is it? You'll believe what you want."

"I believe you," said Whisper.

"So you're tellin' me you weren't happy?" Tangle asked. "Because you seemed happy enough to bring him up here to the Beatdrop Capital."

"I wanted to get away after everything that went down in Central City," Amy explained. "I was uncomfortable, and we had a psychotic wolf after us. But that's all blown over now."

"And what about Infinite?" Tangle asked. "Is he still here?"

"He'll move on eventually," Amy muttered. "I hope. I really don't want to have to move again."

"I don't want you to move again," said Tangle. "Ooh. Do you think he's that howling beast people have reported seeing?"

Whisper looked up at that and they climbed out of the elevator.

"Howling beast?" Amy parroted.

"Yeah!" A wide grin appeared on the lemur's face. "They say it's been tearin' up the alleys and jumpin' people! Some have even been caught in its wicked claws. And they say, at night, you can hear it groaning inside this boarded up club. When some kids went to investigate one morning, the tables were overturned and the bar all slashed up. And right in the middle of the floor was a pool of blood!"

Amy glared at her, and beside her, Whisper was trying her best not to tremble.

"Cut it out, Tangle," said Amy. "You're scaring Whisper."

Whisper looked away from her. "No she's not…"

"Oh come on!" Tangle waved a hand at the wolf. "She's a journalist! She lives for this kinda stuff!"

"She reports on video games and city life!" Amy snapped.

"This is city life!" Tangle countered.

"I'm not scared." Whisper's quiet voice didn't waver in the slightest. "Just a rumor, anyway."

A brief pause passed between them, then Tangle grinned again.

"Fancy goin' out tonight to see if we can find it?" she asked.

"No!" Amy and Whisper both said.

"Oh, come on!" Tangle whined. "The Guardian Angel might show up, too, and save the day!"

"We said no," said Amy. "Besides, they're just a rumor, too."

Whisper looked between the two then nodded stiffly in agreement.

"Pff, fine!" Tangle turned back to the van to grab another box. "Be boring. We'll watch girly movies then, and drink wine and talk about boys."

Amy exchanged a playful smile with Whisper. "Sounds good to me."

"I was kidding!" Tangle stuffed the box into Whisper's unsuspecting arms. "After all that fun and danger with the mysterious jackal guy, why wouldn't you want more adventure?"

"Because I didn't want it in the first place." Amy took the box from Whisper. "I just want some peace and quiet, and to go back to selling designs. I should be grateful I sold that autumn one so quickly and could afford this place. It's already a start."

"Eh." Tangle rolled her eyes and grabbed another box to unload onto Whisper. "I suppose I understand. All right. I'll get the wine. You guys get the movie."

"Nothing with unnecessary action and guns, either," said Amy.

Tangle stood up with a heavy box marked 'yet more books', and staggered backwards under its weight. "Spoilsport!"

The rest of the trips to and from the van mostly consisted of playful bickering and movie suggestions. It took all three of them to carry in the heavier furniture, such as Amy's wardrobe, which was fun and games getting into (and back out of) the elevator.

"We really should have taken this apart," Amy had said.

"That would have required tools and taken forever!" Tangle had countered.

Once the larger of the furniture was in place, they could finally begin to unpack. Amy started with her books, given the boxes took up a fair bit of space in her new, small apartment. And she didn't mind living out of suitcases for a day or two.

Whisper focused on the kitchen, while Tangle found anything that 'wasn't needed immediately' and began stuffing it into the little storage closet near the front door.

"You have enough books to make your own library!" she said.

"What can I say? I like reading." Amy cast a glance over her shoulder at the lemur. "And if you find any, don't go putting them in that closet."

"Of course!" Tangle stood up from the black bin liner full of winter coats and held up a small sausage-shaped bundle. "Man! Remember these?"

Amy looked back at her again, and Whisper paused her stocking of Amy's kitchen cupboards to see what had caught Tangle's attention.

"Sleeping bags?" Amy asked.

"Aye! Three of 'em." Tangle tossed one towards Amy, whipping up a musty smell in the air. "Could use a good clean! But remember when we got those?"

Amy's nose crinkled and she tossed it back towards Tangle. "Oh I remember. It was when you insisted camping outside that store when I wanted to go to that book signing."

"I weren't waitin' around for hours for you to get a book signed!" Tangle wagged a finger at her and set the sleeping bags aside. "Besides, they came in use! Music festivals, gaming conventions… man, what happened to us after college? We've become a boring box of old sticks."

Whisper chuckled and continued unpacking the crockery.

"Kinda wanna give 'em a wash," Tangle went on. "Is there a laundry room in this joint?"

"Of course there is," said Amy. "It's down in the basement."

"Then I'll get on it! These will come in use over the next few days."

"You guys plan on sleeping in those?" Amy lifted her head and fixed Tangle with a bewildered expression. "I have a pile of blankets, and the sofa pulls out!"

"But that's no fun! We can all bunk in your room and tell stories and stuff. It'll be like college again. Or all those nights campin'."

"Sounds like fun," said Whisper.

"All right, fine," said Amy. "But you might need to hang them out on the balcony to dry. And that's if it doesn't rain. I think it's meant to."

"That summer storm ain't over yet?" Tangle rolled her eyes and groaned. "I wish it would stop already. It makes my tail all poofy."

Amy paused and looked up at the window. Summer storm… If she recalled correctly, the payment on that hotel room would end the next day. Would Infinite find somewhere else to stay? She shook her head sharply and rose to her feet, marching towards the kitchen. In one of the boxes marked 'cleaning', she found a tub of washing powder. She popped it beside Tangle on a box wrapped in too much packing tape.

"Pop them in the washer," said Amy. "If they're not dry by tonight, then you can wrap yourselves up in blankets like a pair of giant burritos."

Tangle laughed and snatched up the powder and sleeping bags in all three limbs. "Gotcha! I'll be back licketty-split! I don't wanna miss out on any unpacking fun!"

Amy watched the lemur go, then leant back against the wall with a sigh.

Whisper looked up from the cupboards and her face fell slightly. "You okay?"

Amy screwed her eyes shut. No. She wasn't okay. After having a few days to think about it, she was really beginning to think she'd overreacted.

'I was laughing because I know I'm finally strong enough to destroy those who tormented me, and hurt me, and made my life a misery.'

She sighed and turned to face her reflection in the wardrobe. 'I want to say that's better, but it's really not.'

'If it means anything, I won't hurt you.'

But he had, hadn't he?

…But had he really intended it?

He'd made it clear he cared about her. Even if he seemed to be uncertain of it himself. He'd even risked himself to save her life when Gadget had her at gunpoint. Yet despite their back and forth, she'd been nothing short of awful to him. He didn't belong in Mainframe, but he was stuck here. Tormented and tortured for years. He didn't even know how to behave like a normal person. He needed her.

She lowered her head into a hand and sighed. No. He didn't need her. And she didn't need to be dragged back into a government conspiracy. He was completely capable of looking after himself. There'd been no sign Mainframe was under any threat. If she'd really got through to him, and he'd found something to care about, surely he'd stay true to his word and not destroy the planet?

"It's Infinite, isn't it?"

Amy looked up at Whisper's quiet voice. The wolf had moved away from the kitchenette to join her side. Her narrowed eyes moved between Amy's shoulder to her face, and a small frown appeared on the wolf's muzzle.

"Don't trust him…" she said.

Amy glanced at her shoulder, noting the small scars forming under her fur. She adjusted the sleeve of her dress over it and pushed herself back from the wall.

"It's nothing," she said.

"That's why you left him, right?"

Amy paused beside her box of books and looked back at Whisper. "There were a lot of reasons. But let's just say I learned the hard way not to wake someone up from a nightmare."

"Nightmare…"

"I really don't want to talk about this, Whisper. I just want to forget about it all and move on with my life."

The wolf nodded and muttered an apology before returning to the kitchenette.

Amy watched her for a moment, then continued stuffing the bookcase.

A siren blared outside, and flashing blue light filled the small apartment. But it passed as quickly as it started. Her heart pounded as, for a brief moment, she feared they might be chasing down a certain jackal.

Forget about it all…

It sounded a lot easier than it actually was.

...

It was going to be a lot harder than it actually looked.

Rough read over the news article again. A frantic beast causing chaos in the Beatdrop Capital. The official news sites were dismissing the recordings as rumors. A trend brought back from the dead. Long before technology became mainstream, people entertained themselves with rumors. Legends. Spooky stories about monsters leaping through Mainframe, terrorizing young women and children, only to then vanish into the shadows. The only signs people would ever find would be blood splatters or claw marks, yet these could easily be from feral animals living in the alleyways. Cats or raccoons. Maybe even wolves, although feral wolves hadn't been spotted outside the mountains in centuries.

The space pirate lowered his computer to peer through the windscreen. The Beatdrop Capital's neon signs and vibrant billboards spread across the dark city like a confusing constellation. This is where his brother had been spotted.

Rough could shove those legends back in the past where they belonged. The evidence was all there. He'd seen what GUN had turned his brother into. He'd seen the damage the large skunk could cause before he'd even been turned into a mind-controlled weapon. Rough was just glad Tumble was still alive.

Hope welled up in the smaller skunk's chest and he brought his ship around to hover over one of the quieter residential areas. Tracking Tumble wasn't going to be easy. He had a modified data chip, making it easy for Rough to find him, and vice-versa. But whatever Gadget had done to him had made his chip void. Rough's computer brought up nothing, meaning he'd had to track him by evidence alone. That was, if he was even still in the Beatdrop Capital.

Rough dropped from his ship via its neon ladder, releasing it before it broke through the ship's cloak. The last thing he needed was for the citizens to fly into an uproar over a space pirate appearing in their city. His bounty might not be high enough anymore to tickle the fancy of a mercenary, but an everyday citizen wouldn't sniff at a few hundred credits.

He kept his back to the brick wall, scanning left and right for any signs of life. It was oddly quiet for a city. Not so much for a residential spot, but he'd still expect to see someone at this hour. Maybe everyone had taken these 'rumors' seriously?

He crept along the narrow street, then ducked into an alleyway. No sign of a club, and it didn't fit any of the photos of questionable scenes he'd examined in detail. This wasn't one of the locations listed where there'd been wreckage, and there was no sign of any struggle.

Regardless, he made his way along it. Peering through the slats in the window blinds into closed up shops and bars. Empty. Quiet. Undisturbed.

He left the alley onto another street, again quiet save for two teenage boys. The way they were dressed suggested they were both off on their way to a nightclub. The neon green on one boy's outfit glared in the streetlight almost as much as his raucous laughter. It was enough to attract any angry predator.

Rough paused beside the mouth to another alley, watching the two boys as they rounded the corner onto the main road. Their laughter faded off into the distance. Rough let out a breath and turned into the alley, continuing his search.

It was beginning to look more and more like an elaborate rumor. No scratches or scuffs, no blood, no dents in the overflowing skips. But he wasn't about to give up and return to his ship. Not when his brother needed him.

The residential area came to an end, opening up into the Beatdrop Capital's business district. Towering skyscrapers replaced the apartment blocks, and huge department stores and games arcades replaced the bars and clubs. Although not all of them. A deep pulsing noise came from a doorway a few feet away on his right. A group of brightly dressed clubbers stood outside it, clasping glasses that flickered with the colourful lights coming from beyond the open door.

Rough turned the other way, keeping a low profile as he scouted out another promising place to search. He didn't want to have to stop and ask anyone. He wasn't sure how many people might recognize him after everything that had gone down with 'Project Wreckingball'.

Just ahead of him, a group of teenagers scattered, rushing towards his side of the street. He paused and looked up, his heart racing. What had startled them? It sank again when he spotted the glistening blue shell of Eggman's ace robot. A hedgehog, his rocket jet in full propulsion as he glided along the street. Completely ignoring the group of teens, who had stopped to take photos. Metal Sonic landed beside a manhole cover, his digital eyes forming slits. Then he shook his head and rushed past it to continue his way down the road.

Rough turned his head to watch the robot go. It wasn't often people got to see Metal Sonic at work. What was he tracking, if anything? It couldn't be Tumble… could it?

Rough considered following the robot, but at the speed Metal Sonic was going, Rough would soon lose track of him. Regardless, he turned and headed in that direction anyway, making sure to cross the road so as not to look suspicious. But it wasn't for long. A piercing siren filled the air, followed by the clanking feet of a Strider Drone. The lanky robot turned the bend, its blue light probing the shadows. Rough ducked aside into a narrow street beside a games arcade, almost stumbling over a trash can in the process. He pivoted around it and trotted along, hugging the wall. The Strider soon passed, its siren ringing out as a warning to anyone who might fall under its deadly feet.

Rough took in a trembling breath and smoothed out his chest fur, muttering to himself. Then something caught his eye.

Claw marks. Deep ones. Dragged right along the red brick and advertising billboard for the games arcade it was clinging to. The animation struggled to play out, streaked with an oily splash of colour from the bleeding LCD.

Rough's heart began to gallop and he warred with the desire to go back the other way. It was becoming more and more apparent something was very wrong with his brother, and seeing the signs with his own eyes was harder than he'd anticipated. No. Tumble needed him. He was going to find him, remove that helmet and bring him back to his senses.

He jogged along the street, following the trail of claw marks. Each one was becoming more glaring, like he'd suddenly found himself in a horror movie following the trail of a merciless killer. Or a monster. Scuff marks peppered the wall where the brick had been chipped away. Not damage done by claws, but by impact. He began to wonder if Tumble had been chasing something.

A figure rounded the corner out of the shadows and Rough let out a shrill 'eep!'

The figure's trenchcoat billowed out behind them and faint blue lights penetrated the shadows. Rough spotted the weapon and leapt to action, forcing the twin blades out of the ends of his spike cuffs. He barged into the wolf, pushing him up against the wall. His right blade pressed against the fur of the wolf's throat, and Rough leered into his amber eyes. The skunk opened his mouth to speak, but his words cut off as something cold pressed into his ribcage.

"I think we're at an impasse," said Gadget.

"You pull that trigger, I'll skewer ya," Rough growled. "Now what're you doin' in this city?"

"What are you doing here?"

Rough bared his canines and pushed the blade into Gadget's throat, causing him to pull his head back into the brick wall. "I think you know."

Gadget let out a chuckle. "I guess we're looking for the same thing."

"Are you about to tell me you've lost my brother?"

"In a sense." Gadget attempted to shrug without nudging the blade. "I've lost control of your brother."

"So he's out there, causin' trouble, because of you?!"

Gadget hushed him through his teeth. "Do you want to lure him here?"

"I want him back. An' if lurin' him over here will do that, then I'll keep yellin'."

"You'll get us both killed."

"Nah. 'Cos when he shows up, I'm gonna bust off that helmet. Then I'm gonna turn you over to Eggman!"

Gadget laughed again and narrowed his eyes. "You think it's that easy? You just remove it like that, you'll sever the wired connections and your precious brother will be reduced to nothing but a vegetable. And as for turning me in…" A sinister smile spread across the wolf's muzzle. "I'd like to see you try. Everyone knows Eggman can't stand space pirates. It would be a 'two-for-one' deal, as far as he's concerned."

Rough's eyes widened slightly and his ears drooped. Then he shook his head and pushed his blade hard enough against Gadget's throat to produce a fine line of blood. The gun jabbed against Rough's chest in retaliation and he heard Gadget knock off the safety.

"I'll make a deal with ya," said Rough. "You remove that helmet, I let you go alive."

"If you even try to kill me, skunk, I'll pull this trigger."

"I think my knife can move faster than your little gravity weapon. I've seen how slow that thing plays out."

Gadget sighed and retracted his weapon, but Rough didn't pull back his blade.

"We have a deal, doc?" he asked.

"Fine. I'll help you find your brother."

Rough snorted, unconvinced. "And you'll remove that helmet?"

A smile formed on Gadget's face and his eyes flashed dangerously. Then he shrugged one shoulder and relaxed back against the wall.

"Sure," he said. "I'll remove the helmet. I can't control the wretched thing anyway."

Rough muttered under his breath at Gadget's comment and retracted his blades back into his wrist cuffs. But he kept a wary eye on the glowing gravity gun. It vanished inside Gadget's coat and the wolf pushed himself back from the wall, not taking his eyes off Rough.

"He's back this way." Gadget nodded further down the alley. "But he moves fast. Time is of the essence."

He turned away from Rough with a flourish, his coat billowing out behind him. Rough watched him for a moment, fearing he might have made a fatal decision trusting the deranged doctor. But he was the only one who could remove that helmet. So he trotted to catch up with him, preparing to recall his daggers again if it came to it. Hopefully not on his brother.

...

**Thanks for reading! As always, please R&R! =D**


	27. Sleepless Chapter 5

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! Sorry this is a day late. I've been super busy!**

Chapter Five

Blaze fell into the seat opposite Silver and dropped a small notebook before him.

"That's everything I could find," she said.

Silver almost leapt into his psychokinesis, the faint blue light appearing around his body. But he swallowed it back. Now wasn't the time to go embarrassing himself. So instead he set his coffee aside in favor of picking the notebook up by hand, and flicked on his desk lamp so he could see it better.

Blaze's neat handwriting graced two pages, detailing all recorded suicides over the past month. Most of them were genuine.

"So you contacted their family or friends?" He looked up briefly from the book.

"Yes," she said. "I had to explain why I was running this investigation, and once I had, people were more than willing to speak."

Silver nodded and skimmed the first page. "Well, after little Snow, it's public news now anyway. And it looks like two of these could have been the work of this killer, if the relatives were honest at least."

"I think they were honest. I mean, why lie about this?"

"Some people just want their five minutes of fame, Blaze."

"Try to be a little more optimistic," she said. "Everything they've told me is there. And given his odd trademarks, it checks out."

She wasn't wrong. The two victims were found in similar states. An apparent suicide. One more bloody than the other, but both rooms were spotless. One found in a bathroom, on the floor. Locked door. The other in his garden shed. Again, locked.

Immaculately tidy, almost obsessively so. No one had thought to run a crime scene investigation, so there was no record as to whether it had been scrubbed clean. None of the relatives had batted an eyelid at it. The situation with the shed only left the victim's family wondering if he'd been looking for the tool he'd wanted, and tidied up as he went along. The locked doors had the victims' families convinced it was suicide.

And it was much too late now to run an autopsy. The funerals had been and gone, and both victims had been cremated.

"Looks like whoever the killer is put a foot wrong when they killed your brother," he said.

"Hmm?" Blaze looked up from the newspaper she'd discovered on his desk.

"Given they'd left the room in such an 'out of character' state. They clearly put a foot wrong."

"Or right, if they wanted people to realise someone is behind it." She looked back down at the paper. "I've asked all families affected to let us know if they find any clues that could point to other killings."

"Good idea." Silver quickly read over her notes again. "It would definitely help."

She let out a huff and he looked up to see her perusing the paper's second page.

"The entire city has flown into a riot about it, huh?" she said.

Silver grunted and set the book aside while he loaded up his holoscreen. "'Riot' is a nice way of wording it. I'd say the more accurate term is 'excited'. I can't say I'm impressed with the name they've given this killer."

"What? 'The Heartbreaker'?"

"Exactly," Silver spat. "It's an insensitive way of romanticizing this maniac. He's out there taking lives, and has become a sensation over it. It makes me sick to my stomach."

"People react in weird ways." Blaze tucked the newspaper under the desk and twirled a lock of hair. "I doubt those who are affected are too happy with this name. Have you had any joy with the VR machine?"

"None." Silver glanced at the headset sitting amid the chaos on his desk. "I'm beginning to wonder if this is really the clue for the next case. Part of me wants to search Snow's room again in case we're missing something."

"I'm not sure her parents will want us to mither them again. They're still grieving after all."

"But we could be missing something crucial."

"I agree with you," said Blaze. "But at this rate, we might just have to wait for him to strike again, and take it from there."

"I'd rather catch him in the act and throw him behind bars." Silver tapped at his keyboard as he transferred Blaze's notes to his case files. "Besides… how do we even know this killer is a 'he'?"

"We don't."

"They might not even be a Mainframer."

Blaze looked from her phone with a start. "You have a suspicion who it might be?"

"Think about it. Everywhere is left obsessively clean. There are no wounds to speak of, yet no fingerprints. Not even any indication on the victim's heart that it has been committed by flesh and blood hands."

"You think it's a robot?"

Silver's quills bristled down his back and he faltered with his fingers over the holokeys. A robot… it had been there, at the back of his mind. The mental image of a small form lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

He absently rubbed at the side of his head, feeling the jagged scar behind his ear. There was only one robot who'd want to mess with him. Who'd decide to play mind games to drive him to the brink of insanity.

"I think it's Metal Sonic," he said.

Blaze almost flew from her seat. Her jaw went slack and she stared back at him, speechless.

"I don't know how," he went on. "I've no idea how anyone, let alone a robot, could commit these murders and not leave any external trace of injury, but at the moment he's my prime suspect."

"So what, you want to apprehend Metal Sonic and quiz him on this?" Blaze gasped. "He can't even speak!"

"I know morse code. He can answer me in beeps."

"I think you're being ridiculous," she said. "Why would Eggman let one of his robots run rampant killing people?"

"He'd be the perfect assassin. He wouldn't even leave a trace."

"We've found clues, though!" said Blaze. "Good grief, Silver! If it is Metal Sonic then it will only backfire on Eggman. He'd lose Mainframe's trust!"

Silver met her eyes. "How much trust does he really have?"

"I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet more are in favor of him than you realise."

"Like your father?"

Her mouth snapped shut and her jaw turned rigid.

Silver sighed and leant back in his seat, rubbing the palm of his left hand. "Okay… say it isn't a robot. Then who? Who else wouldn't leave a trace of their identity? Someone with a bionic arm, maybe? Someone who can't shed? Not even throw dander into the air?"

"We don't know. I guess we'll have to just keep following their trail." Blaze's voice had turned flat and she shifted in her seat. "I think I'm going to go. I need to sleep on this."

She rose from her seat and Silver leant on his desk, rubbing at his temples.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I lashed out."

"Okay." She looked back at him from the door. "But you need to remember not everyone is anti-Eggman. He's done a lot of good for Mainframe."

"Has he?"

"Medical science. Security. Technology has come in leaps and bounds."

"And it's out there causing trouble."

"You have no proof that Metal Sonic is behind all this! Why have you leapt to him of all robots? It could easily be a little drone, if it even is one. Think on it, and if you can find solid evidence to back your theory, only then will I give it any thought."

She pulled the door open, but Silver's voice froze her.

"Are you anti-Eggman?"

She looked back at him again, her eyes wide. "Does it matter?"

Silver shrugged, and Blaze let out a small sigh.

"I'm undecided," she said. "I've grown up surrounded by conflicting opinions. My father supports Eggman. He always has. But my brother… he was strongly against him."

"Then there we go." Silver leant back in his seat and clasped his hands together. "Motive."

Blaze tutted and stepped from the room, slamming the door behind her.

...

Tangle stepped back inside Amy's apartment, beating her gloved hands together.

"That's all the boxes put out into the recycling!" She flopped right into the middle of the sofa and kicked her feet up onto the glass-topped coffee table. "It feels good to be done! Less than twenty four hours, eh? Must be some kinda record!"

Whisper handed her a steaming mug of coffee and sat down beside her.

Amy joined Tangle's other side. "Tell me about it. I think I'd be living out of boxes for nearly a week if it weren't for you two. You've been a big help."

"You're welcome," said Whisper.

"Ahh, we're a great team!" Tangle threw her arms around each of them and pulled them into a squeeze. "I say we celebrate! Stay up late watching movies, or we could go out somewhere? What do you say?"

Whisper cracked one eye open and shrugged the lemur off her. Tangle retracted her arm and laughed, muttering an apology.

"I prefer the first option…" said Whisper.

"I'm with Whisper," said Amy. "After all that exercise, I don't really feel up to clubbing."

"We don't have to go clubbing," said Tangle. "We could hit the cinema? I hear they've got this new VR movie with giant monsters battling it out. Sounds amazing."

Amy shuddered as she recalled Infinite's roller coaster. Then the memory of his mutated appearance followed suit as he tried to maim Gadget.

"I think I've had my fair share of giant monsters for a lifetime," she said.

"Pity," said Tangle. "Because, like I said, it sounds amazing!"

"There's nothing stopping you and Whisper going to see it," said Amy. "I could do with starting on some new designs, anyway."

Her two friends looked at her, Tangle with her mouth turned down in a frown.

"You're gonna work right after moving house?" she squeaked.

"Of course!" said Amy. "Someone has to. Besides, think of it this way. You get to see a great movie, and Whisper if she wants to can write up a review for it."

Tangle turned her head towards the wolf. "She's makin' our movie outing into work! The nerve of this girl."

Whisper glanced away and sipped her coffee. "Wouldn't mind writing an article, actually."

"Pff, you workaholics! All right." Tangle sat back in her seat. "Whisper and I will go watch this movie. You can get some designs done. Then, afterwards, we meet back here and I'll bring pizza! We'll have another girly night in."

Amy gave her two friends a warm smile. "Sounds perfect!"

Tangle scratched her nose as she gazed at the ceiling in thought. "Maybe I can ask the pizza place if they're hiring."

"You really are bent on staying in this city, aren't you?" said Amy.

"Of course! I'm not having another of my closest friends move away! If you're stayin', then so am I!"

Amy let out a chuckle and warmed both her hands on her coffee mug. "I really do appreciate it. I don't think I've ever moved so far away from friends and family. I just… I couldn't stay there after all that."

"I get it. I do," said Tangle.

Whisper nodded in agreement.

"Okay!" Tangle whipped out her pocket computer. "I'll check the show times. You go and do… designer… things."

Amy pushed herself from the sofa. "Then I'll go and get ready. I think I actually need to buy some new supplies."

Tangle looked up from her computer. "You're going shopping?"

"Stationary shopping."

"Bleh!" The lemur poked out her tongue and returned to browsing show times. "That's all you, Amy. See you back here at… I dunno… seven pm?"

Amy quickly checked the time on her phone. It was barely even mid afternoon. "Sounds great. Make sure you take your key."

Tangle nodded and dangled the spare key card from her thumb and finger, before tucking it away again.

Once she was outside, Amy took in a huge breath of air. So she'd finally found a place. Yet, even with her friends there to support her, it still didn't feel like home. She sighed and turned from the apartment, making her way towards the high-street. The buildings still towered over her. Apartment blocks built atop little eateries, bars and bakeries. Various cooking smells filled the air, causing her stomach to rumble.

She stopped at a bakery she was becoming very fond of, idly chatting to the middle-aged hamster who owned the place. With a melon bread in one hand, Amy returned to her stroll, munching away as she checked the store windows. Particularly the clothing stores. Research was research, after all.

Her destination was a good way into the Beatdrop Capital. An art shop that spanned three floors. The smell of paint and turpentine filled the place, a strong hint that there'd been a recent spill and it had lingered long after it had been cleared up.

She scooped up two new sketchbooks, and a set of new marker pens. Hers were becoming quite worn after her exhaustive attempts to design a new autumn range, and she'd been waiting for a time she could afford to replace them.

She resisted the urge to scoop up an attractive set of colouring pencils and forced herself towards the cash register. It hadn't taken her as long as she'd thought it would. It was drawing closer to five pm, and stores were beginning to close up. The art store being one of them.

As she made her way back towards her apartment, a sense of loneliness washed over her. Tangle and Whisper would be enjoying their movie now. All while Amy spent the better part of the next two hours sketching out designs in her new empty apartment.

She hesitated, gazing down the road at the towering blocks. Then she turned a sharp right onto a quiet residential street. After a short stroll, she found herself in the local park.

Heavy grey clouds gathered overhead, making it feel a lot darker than it should have been at that hour. It carried with it the threat of rain.

Despite all that, the park was lively. A small group of children raced across the grass, kicking a ball back and forth. Across the path, a pair of wild squirrels chased each other up a tree. A light breeze washed through the park, rustling the leaves and stirring up some lazy bees from the abundant flowerbeds.

Amy flopped onto a park bench and pulled out one of her sketchbooks. Nature was a good source of inspiration, after all.

Time ticked by as she sketched out some design ideas. A rainy theme carried through most of her sketches, and she even added in an umbrella for good measure. It was only rough work, but inspiration came faster to her than it had back in the hotel. Now the stress was off her, her mind was free to wander.

A small smile played on her muzzle as she checked over them, placing a little tick next to the ones she wanted to build on. A dress, a shirt and trousers combo, the umbrella, and two pairs of boots.

A droplet of water bounced off her page, then another struck her nose. She glanced up at the dark sky and tucked her book back into her bag. The children weren't disturbed in the slightest. But if the clouds were fit to burst, then she really couldn't continue working outside. She'd need to head home. Or somewhere dry at least.

She trotted from the pack, pulling out her umbrella. With the push of a button, the telescopic handle fired out and unfolded its bright pink hood. She hugged close to the walls along with other city folk as everyone scurried towards somewhere dry. Umbrellas clashed together and she found herself knocked about, reminding her constantly why she never liked living in a city.

She turned away from the crowds, pushing her way down a pedestrian side street so narrow her umbrella scraped the walls.

Thunder rumbled through the air, causing her to let out a squeal. She ducked into a doorway and braced herself as the sky lit up with a flash and thunder crashed after it. But she couldn't stay there. She ducked back out of her feeble shelter and bolted down the narrow street, pushing her umbrella ahead of her.

The back streets wound throughout the Beatdrop Capital. She had most of it committed to memory. But running blindly caused her to make a few mistakes and before long, she found herself standing under an awning outside a little bistro.

Well away from her apartment block, and a good way outside of the main shopping district. The thunder seemed to have stopped, instead leaving a massive downpour in its wake. She gave a mournful glance towards the bistro's window, its neon green 'open' sign flickering back at her. The clock at the back told her she had just over an hour to get back home. No time to duck inside and wait out the rain with a coffee and biscotti.

So she turned away from it and tried to navigate herself back towards her apartment. She wasn't far from the bistro when heavy footsteps echoed from one of the adjoining streets. Raspy breathing and grunting accompanied them, pushing her quills on end. She turned her head towards it, catching the slotted eyepiece of a nightmarishly familiar helmet.

The cream-coloured skunk stared back at her, his shoulders heaving and claws twitching. A set of deadly blades hung down from the mechanical appendage that had replaced his right forearm. He shook his head from side to side, catching the brick wall and sending up a flurry of sparks. Then he charged.

Amy screamed and ran, putting her umbrella down and stuffing it blindly into her shopping bag. Then she dragged out her mallet. She skidded over garbage as she raced down a narrow alley, twisting to face the massive beast. She brought her mallet up in an arc, striking it on its chin. It keeled backwards, flailing its arms and dragging up sparks as metal scraped against brick. But it caught its balance, shaking its head frantically. Then it fixed its slotted eye back on her. Somehow, it looked angrier than it had done previously.

She gulped and took a step back. It took one towards her. Then another.

She turned and fled, keeping her mallet at her side. The beast let out a roar, almost mechanical in sound. Then it galumphed after her, striking the walls with its claws and helmet as it struggled with the tight turns.

Screams rose into the air as it raced after her down the busy road. People dashed to the other side, fleeing the deadly creature. Yet they were nothing to it. It had its eyes set on its prey. Did it recognize her? She shook that thought off and clutched her mallet. With the skunk so close to her, she couldn't exactly turn and face it. She'd be sliced to ribbons.

She fought the urge to look back and instead turned into another side street. The smattering of people chatting along it turned and ran as she led the creature on its vicious rampage. Just ahead of her was an electricity box. She leapt and kicked off from it, forming an arc over the beast's head. It lifted its claws, narrowly missing her. She brought her mallet down to meet its head, but instead it bounced off its mechanical hand. It roared with frustration and turned as she landed behind it in a squat.

She panted to catch her breath, but there was little time. It re-oriented itself and lunged after her as she bolted back towards the main road. She dashed across it, causing hovercars to swerve and honk their irritation. It didn't stop the beast. It clawed up the walls of the wide street she darted into, scattering commuters and those desperate to escape the rain.

Her heart pounded and her lungs began to burn, begging her to stop running. She closed her eyes briefly as her strength began to wane. Then someone grabbed her arm, yanking her into a narrow alley.

Her muzzle met soft fur and she stifled a scream as someone shushed in her ear. White fur. Her hand rested on the hard surface of a red gem. Beyond it, she could feel her rescuer's heart racing almost as fast as hers.

Her right eye went to the alley mouth, shrouded by a strange wobbly haze one might see around a car on a blisteringly hot day. The beast stared back at her, its head twitching up and down as if it was sniffing for her. Then it jerked its head left and right, claws flexing. With a mighty roar, it turned and bolted down the street, away from them.

Infinite loosened his grip and the haze vanished. He let his hands linger on her arms, and he trailed a thumb over the small scars on her shoulder. His lips parted slightly and he took in a raspy breath before closing his eyes and looking away from her.

"Thank you," she said.

"It's fine," he replied.

"What is he doing here?" she asked, glancing back at where the beast had vanished. "Does it mean Gadget…?"

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. He finally released her, letting her step back from him.

"I'll walk you home," he said.

She wanted to tell him he didn't need to, out of politeness, but the threat of that creature lurking around the corner, and its resistance to her hammer… She gave a curt nod and muttered her thanks, falling into step at his side.

They walked on in silence, often against the sea of umbrellas and soggy people making their way back home. Amy had opted against her umbrella in case she needed to call on her mallet again. She cast occasional glances at the jackal, who avoided her gaze. The ribbons in his mane had come loose, and water dripped from his fur and mixed with the mud and dust that seemed to cake both him and the belts dragging behind him.

She cleared her throat and ventured to ask, "Did you stay in the hotel?"

"No."

That was all he said. A simple answer. She decided not to press it, instead continuing silently at his side as they made their way down the various side streets towards Amy's apartment.

A mix of feelings washed through her. Relief, and a strange familiarity, yet it felt off. His silence was out of character. He wasn't watching the passers by or taking in the buildings, nor humming to himself like he often had. He didn't even seem to be on alert, instead watching his feet as he dragged them through puddles.

She wound her hands together and tried to avoid watching him. It just made her feel sad seeing him like that.

He eventually came to a stop. "Amy?"

She turned back to him, catching his eye. She opened her mouth to speak, then noticed the door beside him. They were back at her apartment. She hadn't even realised they were even on the right street, too lost in her own thoughts.

She trotted back to him, fumbling through her bag for her key card. Then something hit her.

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "How… how did you know where I lived?"

He shrugged and looked away, across the street.

"Have you been following me?" she asked.

"Yes."

She sighed and toyed with the card key.

"I had to," he said. "Gadget's in this city." He shuffled his foot, oblivious to her stare. His shoulders slumped and that strange rattling sound left his throat as he took in a deep breath. "He threatened you."

"How do you know? Did you speak to him?"

Infinite didn't reply, but the look on his face was enough to cement her fears.

Amy closed her eyes as a familiar dread washed over her. "We just can't escape him, can we?"

She thought Infinite shook his head, but given his shuffling and finger twitching, it was hard to say for certain.

She sighed and moved a little closer to him. "You look tired. Do you… want to come in?"

He turned his head to look at her, his lone eye trailing over her face to land on her scarred shoulder.

"You can get cleaned up," she said. "And… well, you don't have anywhere to stay, so… Oh yes!" She tapped her forehead with the key card. "I have friends staying. But I don't think they'll mind you joining us for a while."

She scanned the panel by the door, and it created a click that sounded louder than it should have. She pushed the door open, and stood back for Infinite to enter.

He stared at her for a moment longer, then glanced between her and the open door. He closed his eye and let out a small sigh, before resigning himself to enter the apartment block.

The elevator ride felt painfully long. He leant against the walls, leaving grimy smears on the glass. Amy wanted to ask where he'd been staying, but prying would probably only make things worse.

Once they reached her room, she let him in ahead of her. He stepped inside slowly, sniffing the air as he took in everything. The living room, separated from the kitchenette by its bar and linoleum floor. She let the door click shut behind her, and he jumped slightly, turning his head towards her.

"The shower is just through there." She pointed to the small corridor leading off at the far end of the living room. "Right at the end. The doors on the left and right lead into the bedroom or my studio."

He grunted and looked around the room again. "It's bigger than a hotel room. And not very pink."

"I haven't decorated yet." She added a small laugh, in hopes it would lighten the mood.

His lone eye sparkled but he didn't smile.

She watched him as he vanished into the corridor, then she moved into her kitchenette, switching on the coffee maker out of habit. While it brewed, she paid a visit to her studio. It hadn't been touched, which was no surprise since she had only moved in the day before. But it was one of the first rooms she'd unpacked. All her materials had their place, and she found the red ribbon reel tucked away neatly on a shelf. She cut some strips of it to replace Infinite's soiled ones, and made another set of belts while she was at it. The tubing would, unfortunately, have to wait until it was cleaned given she'd used up all she had making the initial set.

She popped them on the coffee table and while she was pouring out two mugs of coffee, Infinite plodded into the living room. His fur was damp, but all traces of grime had vanished. His mane hung haphazard around his face, which she found to some surprise was missing his mask. It hung at his side, clasped in his hand, along with the rest of his apparel.

She approached him with his coffee, but he dodged her gaze and shuffled his foot on the floor.

"I washed it in the shower," he said. "But I don't want to leave it on your carpet while it's still wet."

"That's no problem. We'll hang it."

She traded the mug for his apparel and hung the belts, gloves and accessories over the hat stand by her front door. She tucked his boots beneath it then made to join him on the sofa. But he was still standing beside it, looking lost, and making every effort to avoid her seeing his face. Without his mask, though, it was obvious he was exhausted. Faint, dark marks were visible beneath his mismatched eyes, and his ears drooped slightly.

Amy reached into one of her cupboards, and Infinite jolted as a jar of peanut butter appeared in his free hand.

"I bought it out of habit." She fell onto the sofa and motioned for him to join her. "I made some fresh adornments for your mane, if you want me to sort it."

He flopped down at her feet and unscrewed the jar, while she began running a brush through his mane. Still slightly damp. It wasn't all that easy to brush it, as he attacked his meal as though he hadn't seen one in days. But she didn't complain, or fight against it.

Her phone chimed beside her with a message from Tangle. Her heart sank a little. She'd almost forgotten her friends were on their way back.

'At the pizza place! What's your poison, sister?'

"My friends are on their way back," she said. "They're just getting pizza."

He quirked an ear back towards her and lowered his jar of peanut butter. His nose twitched in thought as he stared at the blank wall.

"Do you want anything?" she asked.

"Yes. A sleep."

She trailed the brush slowly through his mane, and he set the empty jar down beside him. It wasn't exactly an easy request given the size of her apartment. But she couldn't exactly shun her friends either.

She set the brush down while she typed out her reply.

'Just a margharita for me, please. But… could you please keep it down when you come in? I had an incident I'll explain more about later. But I ran into Infinite, and he seems out of sorts. I'm going to let him sleep in my room, so he's out of the way. We'll just have to bunk together on the pull-out sofa tonight.'

She got a reply before she could even set her phone down.

'Are you serious?! Oh man, that's exciting! I wondered what had happened between you guys. Does he want anything?'

She stared at the back of the jackal's head while she thought over her answer. He nodded a couple of times, and she feared he might fall forward flat on his face.

'Not unless it has peanuts.'

She set her phone down on the small table beside the sofa in favor of the brush.

"I'm sorry."

His words took her by surprise and she paused with her fingers hovering over the brush's handle.

"I never wanted to hurt you," he said.

"I know." She continued brushing his mane. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I over-reacted. I was under a lot of stress, and I never should have bailed on you like that."

"You had every right to." His voice wavered and he wiped his nose on his hand. "I'm not exactly safe. I think that incident proved that much. And if it wasn't for me, Gadget wouldn't be after you."

"Did he actually say he was after me?"

"Not in as many words."

"Then… maybe we'll be okay?"

A pause passed between them, and in that silence Amy found her mood lifting. Having him sat there gave the room a strange feeling of familiarity.

"Your words have haunted me," he said. "When you said you'd been worrying about how you hadn't been nice to me. Well, I've also not been very nice to you, have I?"

She lowered the brush into her lap and a frown replaced the small smile she'd been giving him. "Not exactly, no."

His ears drooped and he scratched at his chest.

"But we can start over," she said. "I mean, you stopped using a chain. That was a start. I'd also appreciate it if you stopped calling me 'Freak'. And I can be a little more controlled with my temper and have more patience with you."

"I can do that. But it might take me a little while. I'm not perfect."

"No one's perfect."

"If it means anything," he went on, "Despite how I've treated you… and despite how much it frightens me… I do consider you a friend."

Tears pricked her eyes and she screwed them shut to stifle them. "Infinite…"

"I never intended it," he said. "I've been trying to cover it up, I guess in some way lying to myself. You see, friends and family are a weakness. That's why I never wanted to let you in, but I just couldn't help it." He took in a breath and flopped backwards against her legs. "So there you go. You've won."

She wiped her eyes on her glove. "Believe me, Infinite. It's not a weakness."

He let out a bitter laugh. "If Gadget got hold of you, he could do what he wanted with me. That makes it a weakness."

"You also saved my life, more than once. I'd call that a strength."

She brushed his mane back from his face, and he leant his head into her hand so her fingers brushed over his cheek. It made her heart ache and she closed her eyes as a few tears trickled down her muzzle.

"I know what it feels like, though," she said. "Since I also think of you as a friend."

He let out a long breath as if he'd been waiting for her to say those words.

"It gives you something to fight for," she went on. "And I want you to know that I'm never going to give up on you again."

"Those are some big words. I might keep letting you down."

"I think I'm up for the challenge."

"You're one strange girl," he said. "But I'll try my best. I really don't want to hurt you again." He paused to take in a trembling breath. "In any way, whatsoever."

She looped her arms around his neck and he clutched her wrist, sinking back into her. She buried her face in his thick mane which smelled like the soap she had beside the shower. Tears flowed down her cheeks, soaking into his mane, and she let out a few muffled snuffles.

He sighed heavily as he relaxed into her, and he traced little circles over the back of her hand with his thumb. They sat like that for a while as she waited for her tears to finally stop. So he'd been trying to cover up that he cared about her. Had she been trying to do the same? She certainly had the past few days, trying to convince herself and her friends that she couldn't care less where he was, or how he was doing. Convincing herself that he was capable of looking after himself in this world. Alien to Mainframe, with nowhere to go. No one to turn to.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she croaked.

"Likewise." He gave her arm an affectionate squeeze. "Thank you. For giving me a second chance."

She nuzzled between his ears then slowly released him, letting her fingers linger in his mane. Then she let out a squeak as the door burst open.

Infinite leapt to his feet, crimson energy surrounding his body in a flurry of glitching pixels.

"Who wants pizza?!" Tangle announced as she skipped into the apartment.

The lemur's expression fell as she stared at the distorted jackal.

Amy rose from the sofa and glared at her. "I thought I asked you to keep it down?"

Tangle leapt backwards into Whisper with an 'eep!' as Infinite flashed towards them in the blink of an eye. But it wasn't the two girls he was after. He snatched his mask from the coat stand and turned his back on them, fixing it over his muzzle. Only then did he let the pixels drop and return to his normal form.

"Sorry about that." Amy moved towards him and frowned at Tangle. "I told them you might be sleeping."

The lemur grinned from ear to ear. "But I heard voices outside the door, so I knew you were awake!"

"I won't be for long." Infinite bared his canines, letting out a low growl.

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder, silencing him. "Please? These are my friends."

He sighed and closed his eye, turning away from them. "I'll be in your studio."

"There's not really any space in there." Amy turned to follow him. "You can use my room."

"Aww please!" Tangle trotted after them, depositing the pizza boxes on the table. "Join us for pizza! I have like a billion and one questions!"

Infinite glared at her over his shoulder. "I shall limit you to two."

"Three. And I'll let you have a slice of mine." She tapped the pizza box.

"Is there pineapple on it?"

"Only on hers." Tangle pointed at Whisper.

The wolf gave him a small wave.

Infinite let out a defeated sigh and Amy drew his attention back to her.

"You really don't need to," she said. "It's obvious to anyone here you're exhausted."

"It's fine," he said. "If I'm going to be staying here, then I guess I need to get used to your friends. Besides…" He clenched his teeth together and said, "I think I can survive one lousy girl's night."

Amy dreaded he would soon be eating those words.

...

Rough poked his head around the corner of the amusement arcade, squinting ahead of him through the rising mist. The rain was still coming down heavily, and a rumble resounded overhead as it was carried away further north.

"Any sign of him?" Gadget asked.

Rough snorted and shook his head. "Completely lost him."

The skunk stepped out of his hiding spot, sniffing at the air. Only a faint trail remained from Tumble's stink-bomb attack. His brother had been frantic, claws spread and thrashing, as he bolted down the street. He'd barely given Rough or Gadget a second thought. Whatever he'd been chasing, Rough hadn't seen it. And the tranquilizer Gadget had fired had missed the large skunk by a mile.

Rough snarled over his shoulder at the wolf. "I can't believe you missed that last dart."

Gadget gave him a nonchalant shrug and joined his side. "My aim isn't perfect, pirate."

"Well now we ain't got no way to reel him in, have we?"

Gadget smirked and let his arms hang loose at his sides. Rough caught a glint of blue inside the wolf's heavy trench-coat and he quirked an eyebrow at him.

"How long can that anti-gravity beam hold him for?" Rough asked.

Gadget looked down at his hidden weapon as though astounded Rough had even noticed it. "Oh, I don't know… about fifteen minutes if the battery holds out?"

"Fantastic," said the skunk. "That'll give me ample time to get him onto my ship and lock him in the storage dock."

"You think a feeble door can hold him?"

Rough jabbed a claw into Gadget's chest. "I'm willin' to risk it so you can remove his helmet."

Gadget tutted and frowned at him, but he said nothing.

The pair turned into the street, their boots splashing through the shallow puddles. With most of the city's inhabitants hiding from the storm, it was pretty empty. Almost eerily so.

A second set of footsteps joined theirs. More deliberate and heavy. Rough slowly turned his head back the way they'd come, and his breath froze in his throat.

Tumble leered back at him through the glowing slat in his helmet. His iron claws flexed. Then he lurched towards them.

Rough and Gadget rolled in opposite directions as Tumble barged right through them, kicking up spray. He skidded to a halt, jamming his claws into the floor, and pivoting back to rush them again.

"Fire!" Rough barked.

Tumble froze, jerking his head around towards him. Then he swung the helmet around, roaring with frustration.

Gadget pulled out his weapon and aimed. A click.

Tumble stopped his thrashing, turning all his focus onto the wolf. He lifted his claws, lunging at him. Gadget rolled out of the way, and Tumble crashed head first into the wall of the game's arcade. He fell flat onto his back, howling and flailing his deadly blades.

Rough joined Gadget's side, pointing a claw at his brother. "I said fire!"

A smirk split Gadget's muzzle and he aimed his gun at the larger skunk again. Another click.

Rough's jaw dropped as he watched the massive skunk right himself, turning the massive helmet to face them. Heavy, panting breaths came from beyond it, distorted by the hollow metal. Rough's blood turned cold and he grabbed Gadget by the wrist.

Before the wolf could object, Rough dragged him along the street, winding along them as Tumble stomped behind in pursuit.

"What's wrong with it?!" Rough barked.

Gadget panted as he tried to keep up with him. "My gun? Oh… I guess it's broken."

"How long have you known?!"

"A few days."

"And you never thought to tell me?!" Rough dragged him onto the main road heading back to the residential area. "Lucky for you, there's tools on my ship!"

"Your ship?"

"Yeah. Know what else?" Rough bared a canine as Tumble rounded the corner. A mighty, metallic roar filled the air. "There's also no monsters!"

His ship's neon-green ladder dropped beyond its cloak. He nudged the wolf on ahead of him, then looked back over his shoulder at Tumble.

"Sorry 'bout this, bro."

He curled into a ball, letting out a cloud of skunk spray as he rolled past Gadget. Just to stink him, too, out of spite. Tumble howled, falling back with his arms flailing. Gadget caught up with Rough, coughing and spluttering as he joined him on the ladder.

Rough laughed and shook his head, wiping a tear from his eye. Something about the wolf's livid expression told him he'd be paying for that when they were safely aboard his ship.

...

**Please R&R! =D**


	28. Sleepless Chapter 6

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Six

Infinite did not survive girl's night.

Tangle insisted they sit on the floor, given the sofa could only comfortably accommodate three people. The coffee table was shunted aside closer to the door, while the pizza boxes lay open before them.

Whisper had selected the movie. A typical rom-com that played in the background while the girls talked over it. Chatting among themselves at first while Tangle tucked into her pizza.

Amy cracked open the wine and began pouring it out into glasses. The first one was snatched up by Tangle and offered to Infinite. He lay behind them, sprawled out on the sofa, leaning back against the arm with his hands behind his head.

He cracked his eye open when the wine glass appeared before him and let out a small grunt. "No thanks."

"Really?" Tangle gasped. "Not a fan of wine?"

"No." A smile spread across Infinite's muzzle. "That's one question down."

Tangle slumped, and would have spilled the wine all over the carpet if Whisper hadn't intervened.

"That's not fair!" Tangle whined. "That shouldn't count! I was only tryin' to find out your drink preferences."

He chuckled and closed his eye again, settling down into the sofa.

"I have like a billion to choose from already, and you're playin' games with me!" She rounded on Amy, pouting out her bottom lip. "Amy, tell him."

"I think I'll let this one slide." Amy sipped her drink and leant back against the base of the sofa.

"Urgh, you're a pair of meanies." Tangle scooped up her pizza box with her tail and offered it behind her. Her brow creased as she thought over her request, then smirked. "Have some pizza."

Infinite frowned at her. "I love how you avoided forming that into a question. You learn quick."

He brushed her offer aside, and the lemur let out a sigh. "Was your message a joke, or does he really just eat peanuts?"

"It was a joke," Amy answered.

As if to cement her statement, he leant over her head to grab a pizza slice from her box.

"All right. All right." Tangle raised her hands. "First question-"

"I believe it is your second question," Infinite said with his mouth full.

"You're really not gonna let that slide, are you?" Tangle sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. What's your home world like?"

Amy and Whisper both looked up at that, turning expectant eyes onto the jackal. Amy found herself wondering why she'd never asked him about that before. Instead too fixated on the Phantom Ruby and his strange powers.

He licked pizza from between his pads, deliberately dragging out the silence between the question and his answer. Tangle placed her hands on the sofa, pulling herself closer to him while she waited. Somewhat impatiently.

"It's not that different from yours," he finally said. "Although I've no idea what state it's in now that Eggman isn't in it anymore. I guess less robots and invasive technology. But the main difference between our two worlds is that instead of just having cities, towns and villages like you do, we also have zones. And weird, trippy dimensions called 'special zones'."

"Zones?" Whisper asked.

"They're not easy to describe," he said.

Tangle made a thoughtful noise and glanced at her two friends. Her eyes sparkled and she bounced on her knees as she turned back to the jackal.

"Ooh! Ooh! You did some weird thing when we showed up earlier," she said. "You went all glitchy and stuff. I'm gonna guess that's from your world, and not ours. I wanna know how common that is. So does like… everyone have the same powers as you or something?"

Infinite narrowed his eye at the excitable lemur. Clearly irritated she'd managed to weave an abundance of questions into one statement. "No."

"Really? Interesting! So is it just you, or is it unique to your family?"

All Amy could do was watch as Infinite's expression turned sour.

"You've used up your three questions," he said plainly.

Tangle's ears drooped. "Aww man! But I expected more elaboration than that! Did I strike a nerve or somethin'? 'Cos I didn't mean to!"

She leant towards him and he leered at her through his mask. "You are going to take a lot of getting used to."

Tangle sank back to the floor and shuffled around on her bottom to face the TV. She looked between her two friends and took a bite from her pizza.

"I think I struck a nerve," she said quietly.

Amy sipped her wine and glanced back at the jackal. He wasn't watching either of them, lying there with his eye closed. Or what she could see anyway.

That was another thing she'd never thought to ask about. His family. It made sense he'd feel a little bitter about it, given he'd been stuck in Mainframe for almost sixty years. If he had a family of his own - a wife, brothers, sisters, even children - he'd never have had the chance to see them grow up.

Unless there was some other reason. Something that had turned him bitter towards the world, and people as a whole. He had admitted to wanting to destroy his own world, after all.

'…Friends and family are a weakness.'

Amy clutched the stem of her wine glass, trying to keep her focus on the TV. Had something happened to Infinite's family? Something he didn't want to talk about?

While the girls chatted amongst themselves, Infinite eventually stopped responding to anything tossed his way. Once the movie's ending credits rolled, Whisper scooted across the carpet to switch the TV off. As silence replaced the playful ditty, soft snoring rose above it.

Amy turned towards the sofa. Infinite had his back on them, curled up on the sofa cushions as best he could given the space he had.

Tangle stood up and smoothed out her tail. "Party animal."

"Give him a chance, he's exhausted," Amy told her.

"Eh, I like him," said Tangle. "He keeps me on my toes. Besides… I reckon he'd be pretty handsome without that mask. What do you think, Whisper?"

The wolf raised a hand and looked away from her friend, trying to hide the confused smile that tugged at her muzzle.

"What about you?" Tangle asked Amy.

Amy dodged her gaze as she scooped up the wine glasses. "I've not really given it much thought."

Tangle watched Amy enter the kitchenette. "You've seen him without it, though, right?"

"Yes." Amy kept her back on her friends as she ran the glasses through the sink. "But like I said. I've not really thought about it."

The empty wine bottles appeared beside her, and she looked up to see Tangle leaning against the counter.

"Too hung up on Sonic?" she asked.

"No." Amy switched off the faucet and dried her hands on a tea towel. "Not any more."

"Eh. I won't pry." The lemur stretched and let out a long, loud yawn. "I'm gonna call it a night. Mind if I use the bathroom first?"

"Go ahead."

Tangle flashed her a grin and leapt from the kitchenette, racing Whisper down the corridor.

Amy shook her head slowly and made her way back to the living room. The pizza boxes had already been cleared up and set neatly by the door. She turned to Infinite, still curled up with his back to her.

A blanket.

She rummaged through the storage closet until she found one and placed it over him. It took her a moment to realise the snoring had stopped.

"Are you awake?" she asked quietly. Just on the off-chance he was still asleep.

His head twitched back slightly, but he still didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry about Tangle," she said. "She can get a bit excitable."

"You don't say," he muttered.

"I can have a word with her if you want me to?"

"That won't be necessary." He paused. "To be honest, she reminds me of someone."

Amy's eyes widened at that. She wanted to ask who, but given his reaction to Tangle's probing at his past, she decided against it.

"The sofa pulls out," she said. "You might find it more comfortable."

So she left him to it, making her way to the corridor. She paused to flick off the light, giving one last glance at him over her shoulder. He hadn't moved.

"Good night," she said.

As the room plunged into darkness, he replied from the sofa, "Thank you, Amy."

...

Shadow sat in darkness, his mind trained on the Chaos Network. It was everywhere. News of a serial killer, rampant in Mainframe's Beatdrop Capital. He and Rouge were only just outside it, hiding in the basement of a gaming arcade. Seemingly unused, with the dusty carcasses of long forgotten consoles stacked up against the walls. Nothing of any value. Rouge had already gone through them like a machine, tucking them all back away again neatly where she'd found them.

Her curiosity exhausted, the bat tossed and turned between a pile of damp cardboard boxes and an Alien Invaders machine wearing a veil of cobwebs. Finally she rolled over to fix Shadow in a teal glare.

"Could you do that a little more quietly?" she asked. "I don't know how a girl is meant to get any sleep with you muttering away like that."

Shadow found himself yanked out of the Chaos Network, and he met the bat's eyes. "I wasn't muttering."

"You were so muttering." Rouge tugged a mound of newspaper back over her, coughing on the musty dust that rose up from it. "Several times you've said 'how is he doing it?' What are you reading, anyway?"

Shadow's brow furrowed as he realised the bat was actually right. He gave a defeated sigh and dismissed the Chaos Network, letting himself lean back against the cold stone wall.

"That serial killer," he explained. "His actions puzzle me."

"You ever considered they might not actually be a 'he'?"

"I was using 'he' ambiguously."

"Yeah, well. Some girls might take offense at that."

"Are you one of them?"

She turned her head to look at him, a playful smirk on her lips. "I might be."

Shadow snorted and tilted his head back against the wall.

"If you're gonna keep reading about it," she went on, "may I suggest you do so quietly? Some of us actually need a daily sleep."

He ran a hand down his face and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. Rouge shifted under the newspapers and let out a sigh of her own. Then she rolled over to face him, her eyes narrowed.

"All right, I hear ya, handsome," she said. "You wanna talk about it?"

He rubbed behind his ears and his eyes went distant. "The killer is leaving clues."

"Yeah? All of Mainframe knows this killer is leaving clues. It's apparently their thing."

"I know that," Shadow spat. "But they've not worked out who his next target is yet. The previous one happened four days ago now."

"And this bothers you why?"

He stared back at her for a moment, trying to work out how to convey his feelings on the matter. But the look in Rouge's eyes told him she'd read them loud and clear.

"You're worried he might target us?" She let out a small laugh and pushed herself up, discarding the papers. "Honey, we're on the move all the time. This killer plans his next target. They'd need to know exactly where and when we'll be if they plan to off either of us. We don't work like that. Besides, they couldn't exactly kill you, could they?" She cracked a playful grin. "Unless it's not you you're worried for?"

Shadow huffed and narrowed his crimson eyes at her. "I can't exactly regrow a heart. You know that."

Rouge pouted out her bottom lip. "Charming. And here I was thinking you were worried about little me."

"All they found was some virtual reality device," he said, blatantly ignoring her comment. "All the developers behind that game have now left the city in a panic, believing one of them or a member of their families might be his next target. But what if that wasn't the clue? What if one of that kid's friends just happened to leave it there? What if the clue was something else entirely?"

"If you're so worried, send an anonymous email to the detective."

Shadow spat air and rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to waste my time with some incompetent detective. This killer might be some major ploy to wreak havoc on Mainframe. Some government conspiracy-"

"Or some bored teenager with too much time on their hands." Rouge tugged the newspapers back over herself and huddled back down against the cardboard boxes. "You're thinking into this too much, Shadow. Look at it this way. With all this going on, GUN's spotlight is off you. Their focus now is on silencing and calming the masses. Offering potential targets sanctuary by moving them out of the city. As morbid as this might sound, enjoy it while it lasts."

Shadow's blood boiled and he leapt to his feet. "How can you say that?!"

Rouge's eyes snapped back open and she stared up at him with alarm.

"I can't just sit around when innocent people are being slaughtered!" he snapped. "People are out there being hunted down for no reason whatsoever! Nothing more than… sick entertainment! A game!"

Rouge blinked a few times as she processed this, her eyes trailing over his heaving shoulders and frantic expression.

"You relate," she said bluntly.

"Eh?"

"You said they're being 'hunted down'," she explained. "You sympathize…"

He looked her up and down as he tried to find the right words to back-pedal over what he'd just said.

Rouge pushed herself up again, lazily, and with a lot of exaggerated effort. She smoothed out the fur between her ears, dislodging a cobweb that had found its way there from the arcade machine.

"Look, I get it," she said. "Like those victims, you're innocent, being mobbed by GUN who want nothing more than to turn you into some science experiment. But let me say one thing - I do not believe these murders are some government conspiracy. I do not believe GUN, or Eggman, are behind them. Some people are just sick and twisted. It's a sad fact of life. But if you think for one minute we're looking into these crimes, and investigating crime scenes-"

"You don't have to do anything," said Shadow.

She blinked up at him, slack-jawed.

"You can stay holed up here for all I care," he said. "I can be in and out in the blink of an eye."

"You moron! You'd leave evidence behind. They'd do a DNA check and think it was you!"

"I'll be careful," he assured her. "Besides. I don't shed like you do."

Her muzzle twisted and he realised, with some regret, that she'd taken that entirely too literally.

He let out a small sigh and turned away from her. "I'll be back in less than an hour."

"If anyone sees you…" she growled.

"I'll Chaos Control right out of there, and they'd think they were simply imagining it."

"All right." Rouge dragged the papers over her head. "I'll keep an eye open for 'Black Hedgehog Seen at Crime Scene. Has the Killer Returned to the Scene of the Crime?!' all over the Beatdrop City News."

"You over-exaggerate," he spat. "Don't come looking for me. I need to know you're safe."

Before he could be peppered with any reciprocated terms of affection, the basement warped around him and he found himself standing two blocks down from the home Snow the Rabbit had lived in.

Everything was quiet. Not a single person on the street. Not a child in sight. Dark, save for the glow of the street lamps and the distant neon billboards.

Shadow turned his eyes to the top floor of the house the rabbit had called home. No lights in the upstairs window. Downstairs was equally dark. The car in the drive told him her parents were home. Great. If he was going to go snooping, he either had to wait or do it quietly.

He narrowed his eyes at that thought and pushed himself from the lamp he'd been leaning against. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Quietly it was.

Computer code flashed around him briefly and the world re-materialized as a colourful bedroom. Tidy. Immaculate. Exactly as the news had described the crime scenes. The detectives had done a good job of making sure things were put back where they'd been found. Maybe on the off-chance they had to re-visit it.

Something about the room sent a chill down his spine. It felt cold. Unwelcoming. And oddly haunting. He could almost imagine the scene unfolding before his eyes. He found them wandering towards the window, almost expecting it to be open. Almost expecting to hear a scream, or a laugh. Yet it was closed. Not even a breeze could worm its way through it.

He shrugged it off, absently running his hand over his left arm in a bid to warm himself back up. He'd seen people die before. He'd had to defend himself against GUN soldiers. So why did a harmless room bother him?

He'd never visited a crime scene before. That's all it was. The Ultimate Lifeform couldn't be defeated by a room. No. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

Shadow reached for a drawer and tugged it open, feeling it rattle on its runners. Yet it barely made a sound. The contents were much less tidy. A clear indication someone had been rummaging in them. Well, if that was down to the detectives, they hadn't tidied that.

"Sloppy," he muttered as he shoved the drawer closed again.

He turned slowly to take in the room. Where to even start? A fleeting admiration flashed through his mind for detective kind. They'd just waltz into a scene like this and be greeted in the same way Shadow had. Yet they'd start looking. He swatted the thought aside and turned to the shelves stacked with stuffed animals.

Where had that headset been found again? Beneath the bed?

That was beside the window. He dropped onto all-fours and peered into the dark depths beneath the bed. A few storage boxes lay there, stuffed with art equipment. Neatly organized art equipment.

Shadow found himself rifling through it, sitting cross-legged as he set it down around him. Books of varying design. Pencils of various colours. Paints, either partly used or sealed. He flicked through the sketchbooks, briefly glancing over the child's drawings. A legacy of colourful animals and plants, sketches of things she'd found out in the woods. Each one clearly labeled with the date, species and her neat little signature.

Nothing.

He set them all back in the boxes and nudged them back beneath the bed with his foot. As he turned to take in the room again, he realised one glaring thing.

It wasn't nothing.

The girl had been obsessed with animals. Not the kind that he was, but the kind that flocked in trees or lived in burrows. The kind that sang in the morning, or nibbled on grass, or curled up purring on an owner's lap.

The colourful creatures stared back out at him. Dolls and plush toy alike. Articulated dolls that were designed - slightly - to resemble a mainframer, yet were somewhat cuter. A collection, and probably a pricey one. All the same style, made by the same company or artist. They weren't dressed in clothes. They were animals. Feral.

One of the neon lights flickered outside, creating an erratic pattern over the polished, white shelving unit on his left. His crimson eyes fell on a set of dolls sat on the middle shelf of her toy collection. Wooden dolls that, given how neatly they'd been placed there, would have easily been mistaken for a deliberate placement by the child herself. But they were not like the other toys. They were little wooden Mainframer-style dolls. Not articulated, but almost egg-shaped. All details had been painted on. Three of them. One a male, staring out at him with his arms neatly at his sides. The one beside him was a little girl clutching a basket before her. The final one, a toddler, with a dummy painted on its tiny face.

Shadow frowned at them. Father. Child. Baby. He knew what these were, he'd seen them during his web browsing. They were also a collector's toy, more popular overseas. They came in a set of five, and each one fit snugly inside the other.

He snatched the male from the shelf and tugged it apart. It opened with a soft, almost inaudible 'pop'. Just as he'd suspected, inside it sat the woman doll. Along with a piece of paper wrapped around her.

He peeled it away and unfolded it.

'Dot'

Shadow frowned and set the doll down beside her partner. Then he turned to the little girl. There was a huge size difference between her an the toddler, that became much more glaring with the 'mother' now in place.

He tugged the girl doll open just like the last, and there was the next doll. Her 'brother'. Again with a piece of paper wrapped around him.

'Matrix'

Shadow stared at the two pieces of paper, his lip curling with confusion. What did it mean?!

A click came from beyond the door and light leaked in from the gap beneath it. Voices.

"… are you talking about?"

"I know what I heard. I think someone's in there."

Shadow's blood turned cold and he clenched his fist, the papers crumpling in his hand. Footsteps marched towards the bedroom, growing louder and heavier. He swiftly set the small doll back on the shelf and tapped back into the Chaos Network.

The door opened, letting light flood into the room. But all that was left of Shadow were the slightly erratic placement of the dolls and an accidental trace of pink mist.

The black hedgehog found himself leaning against a cold tunnel wall, gasping for breath. A faint voice reached his ears, whispering. Incomprehensible. He jerked his head around, searching for the speaker, but no one was there. Silence. Water gurgled before him as the river traveled on its way to the ocean. Maybe that was all it was? Just his mind playing tricks on him.

The River Binary. Right on the other side of the Beatdrop Capital to where he'd wanted to be. It had happened again.

He lowered his hand from his face and rolled his head back against the wall. Whatever had happened, it had done the job. Whoever had entered the room hadn't seen him, that much he was certain.

He uncurled his other hand and stared down at the small slips of paper. It was a clue. He knew it was a clue. But what? The words 'dot' and 'matrix'. It made no sense. A dot matrix was a series of dots thrown together to make an image.

Pixels? No… no, that was a different thing entirely. Why was he even trying to link it in with that virtual reality game? He'd already come to the conclusion that it wasn't a clue. If it was, it was as obscure as these slips of paper.

He let himself sink down against the wall as his mind reeled over the possibilities, each one reaching a dead end before it could even get off the ground. He shoved the thoughts aside and reached out to the Chaos Network. The vibrant search screen replaced those thoughts, obscuring reality. A simple search. 'Dot Matrix'.

It brought up exactly what he had expected it to.

'A grid of dots arranged to produce an image on a screen or paper'.

A few image examples followed it. Both hand drawn and computer generated. Old fashioned comics from decades past, bright and colourful and loud.

And the image of a black and purple cat wearing a backwards baseball cap.

Shadow leapt back up the images. He recognized that cat. Not from meeting in person, but from social media pages. Not quite over a year ago, he'd been quite the fan. He'd enjoyed watching the cat's gaming antics play out before him while he'd been hiding from GUN. Then Rouge had come along, and he'd not felt the need to sit back and watch gaming streams.

Renga was the cat's name. Or 'RengaCharming', to use his alias. Why had he, of all Mainframers, appeared in a web search for 'dot matrix'?

Rather than bringing up the image, Shadow did a search for the particular cat. His profile popped up at the top of the list for the Friends of Mainframe social media website, and when Shadow brought that up, he found his page filled with screenshots for 'Assassin Strike Five: Gone Are the Days'.

'Enjoyed streaming this with you last night, gang! See y'all next weekend!'

The hedgehog's heart clenched in his chest. Renga's streaming alias. He'd changed it.

'DotMatrix'.

...

**Please R&R! =D**


	29. Sleepless Chapter 7

**A/N - Sorry this is a day late! I was so busy yesterday, and by the time I finally stopped I was too tired to proof and post. On the upside, I aim to have a Christmas Special out this Wednesday.**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Seven

Amy had been out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow. Refreshed and relaxed, she stretched and yawned, pushing herself up from the mattress. Snoring filled the room, loud and rattly, and she looked down at Tangle lying on her back atop her sleeping bag, limbs splayed across the laminate floor.

Amy chuckled to herself and clambered out of bed, careful to avoid stepping on the sleeping lemur. No sign of Whisper, but the scent of frying oil filled Amy's nose through her closed bedroom door.

A quick freshen up and something to wear.

Amy frowned into her wardrobe as she shimmied through her outfits. Mostly pink, red or blue. Her eyes fell on a lone dress tucked away at the end of the clothes rail. A black dress, with a green and pink chipboard pattern criss-crossing around the hem. She remembered that. Infinite had picked it out weeks ago, and she'd never even tried it on. Just stuffed it away in her wardrobe, never to see the light of day again.

She didn't generally like black. It was too dark a colour, and not one she thought she looked good in. Yet Infinite believed it would actually work. At the time, she'd strongly believed he'd just been rushing her, and had bought it to save argument. But after her client's reaction to her autumn range - orange. A colour she'd never have considered, despite it being a huge autumn theme - maybe the jackal actually had a point.

She tugged the dress off its hanger and stared down at it. Its strappy back, and the extension of the pattern trailing up the front of it to form a chipboard heart. It wasn't horrible. In fact, she quite liked the neon pink and green. Did Infinite even remember it? If so, he'd hidden any offense at her never so much as taking the labels off. Oh well, she could always try it on.

She tucked it over her arm and marched towards the bathroom, careful to close the bedroom door quietly behind her. She was pleased to find the bathroom vacant, and after a swift shower and freshen-up, she decided to venture the dress.

A quick twirl before the mirror, and she found herself liking it. The pink and green worked to take an edge off the black. Infinite really did have an eye for colour.

As she left the bathroom, she smoothed out the faint creases the dress had collected from being stuffed in a wardrobe for too long. The smell of cooking grew stronger when she entered the living room, and she found Whisper standing over the stove in the kitchenette.

"Good morning!" Amy said cheerfully to the living room.

"Morning," said Whisper quietly. "Made breakfast."

The wolf set a plate of pancakes on the breakfast bar.

Infinite was too busy folding the sofa back into place to give either girl much notice. The little blanket lay folded neatly beside him. He looked up as Amy trotted towards him to gather up the blanket. The look on his face caused her to falter, and his jaw went slack as he trailed his eye up and down her outfit.

The hedgehog felt her cheeks heat up and she tore herself away from him to gather up the fluffy bundle in her arms.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I kind of forgot about it."

Infinite cleared his throat and returned to setting the cushions back in place. "I told you it would suit you."

"Well you were right."

Amy hastily put the blanket away in the storage closet, then joined Whisper by the breakfast bar. The quiet wolf set out another plate of pancakes, popping them beside Amy just as Infinite settled on the stool beside her. He reached for a jar of peanut butter that had been set out in preparation, either by himself or Whisper Amy had no idea. He unscrewed the jar and promptly began emptying its contents onto his steaming stack of pancakes.

Amy turned away and reached instead for the maple syrup.

"Good morning!"

Amy promptly dropped the bottle as Tangle's voice dominated the silence. The lemur appeared beside her and flashed her a toothy grin.

"Wow, Amy! You look smokin'!" Tangle snatched up her pancakes as Whisper slid them along the bar towards her. "You going out somewhere or somethin'?"

"No," said Amy. "I was actually just going to stay home and work on my designs."

"That's fair." Tangle licked syrup off her knife and tucked into her breakfast. "I've got an interview at that pizza place, so I'll be off out after this."

"That's a relief," muttered Infinite.

Amy's quills bristled along her spine and she turned to fix the jackal in a glare. But Tangle just burst out laughing and hammered her fist onto the tabletop.

"Argh, you're a riot!" she said. "Yanno what, Niffy?"

Infinite's lone visible eye turned a livid shade of orange.

"You and I," Tangle pointed her fork between them. "We just need a day of fun. Get to know each other. Whaddaya say?"

"Pass." Infinite slipped from the bar stool, taking his 'pancakes on peanut butter' with him to the sofa.

"Huh." Tangle watched him go then turned to Amy. "Was it something I said?"

"No." Amy fired a glare at the back of the jackal's head. "He's just grumpy."

"Well, it was how Whisper and I got to know each other," Tangle said quite loudly. "And now we're thick as thieves!"

Whisper gave them a shy smile as she joined them with her own plate of pancakes.

"You know what they say," said Amy. "Opposites attract."

"And you don't get much more opposite than us three, eh?" Tangle stuffed a fork-full of pancake into her mouth.

"You're telling me," said Infinite. "It's like an apple, an orange, and a giant, obnoxious megaphone all tried to grow on the same tree."

Tangle laughed again and shook her head. "Who are you callin' obnoxious, Grumpy Guts?"

Whisper and Amy both chuckled, but the latter wasn't with amusement. Infinite muttered to himself as he pretended not to hear the lemur.

"So what's the plans for this evening?" Tangle asked. "I'm thinkin' another movie! Maybe one with guns and robots!"

Infinite dramatically flopped onto the arm of the sofa with a loud, drawn-out groan. Amy fired him another glare, then sighed and poked at her breakfast.

"Maybe we could go out this time?" she said. "There's a little bar not too far away from here. It even has a pool table."

"Wow! A proper one?" Tangle gasped.

Amy nodded.

"You don't see many of those anymore." Tangle's eyes practically sparkled. "They're usually just holograms now! Neat! All right. Let's do that. Niffy! You and me? First game!"

Infinite jerked his head around to sneer at the lemur. He dug his fingers into the back of the sofa cushion, his tail swishing like a flag.

"You call me that one more time…" he growled.

Tangle didn't remotely care. She merely flashed him a playful grin before stuffing the last of her breakfast into her mouth.

"All right! I gotta fly!" she said. "You're still meetin' me after the interview, right Whisper?"

"Of course," said Whisper.

Tangle licked the remains of syrup off her plate and popped it into the sink before scurrying from the apartment. But not without a big, joyful wave and a cheery 'see ya!'

"Thank goodness for that!" Infinite leant back against the sofa. "Peace and quiet at last!"

Amy and Whisper gave him a mournful look, and the wolf exchanged glances with her friend. She gathered up her empty plate, and Amy's, and took them to the sink to wash them.

"You don't need to do that," said Amy. "You've done enough."

"It's fine," said Whisper.

So Amy waited at the bar, sipping a coffee she'd not previously noticed was beside her plate, while tapping her fingers on the marble. Once Whisper had dried her hands, she gave Amy a fond smile and moved from the kitchenette.

"Quick shower," she said as she left the living room.

Amy watched her leave then slipped from the bar stool. She rounded on Infinite, drawing his gaze from the remains of his breakfast.

"All right, you," she almost growled.

"What did I do?" he asked.

"You can't treat my friends like that!" she said.

"The wolf is fine," he said. "It's just that Tangle girl."

"What's wrong with her?"

He blinked up at her, as if questioning why on earth she would ask such a ridiculous question. Then he sighed and lifted a hand in a shrug.

"She's very loud for such a small person," he said.

"That doesn't give you reason to be rude to her," said Amy. "Good grief. Have you never had a girlfriend?"

Infinite turned to kick his feet up onto the sofa and closed his eye. "Not especially, no."

"Then that explains your attitude. It's like you haven't got a clue how to treat a girl. And that's including the way you've treated me before."

"Hey!" He fixed his golden eye on her. "I have you know I could be the perfect gentleman to the right girl."

"You'd be a lot more popular if you were a perfect gentleman to every girl."

Infinite's eye sparkled and he flashed her a playful grin. "Really? Wanting me to treat you right, are you?"

Amy's cheeks flushed and she stamped her foot. "That is not what I meant!"

He rolled his head back and laughed. Then regained himself with some abruptness. "I'm not looking right now anyway. But if I found the right girl, I'd treat her like a queen. Us jackals take that thing real seriously. We mate for life."

"Really?" Amy gasped. "That… sounds sweet, actually."

"Of course you'd think that. You've been fawning over the same guy for how many years?"

"See?! This is exactly what I mean!" Amy hugged her arms around herself and looked away from him. "You just don't know how to talk to or treat a girl at all. You'd just be pushing them away!"

His expression turned unreadable as he stared at her. "Have you ever thought that might be exactly what I'm trying to do?"

She shook her head, bewildered. "Why? Because what you're doing is hurtful! You're hurting my friends, and me!"

His lips turned down in a sad frown. "I don't intend to hurt you… or your friends."

"Then why try to push us away?"

He scratched his muzzle beneath his mask and turned away from her. Silence. So he wasn't going to answer her? Her mind wandered back to the previous night, when she'd been wondering if something had happened to his family. Or if he'd left them behind all those years ago.

She took in a wobbly breath and absently rubbed her arm. "So you haven't found her? Not even back in your world?"

"Nope." A blunt answer. No emotion in his voice at all.

"Then that explains why you're treating us the way you are doing. You clearly don't know what love feels like."

He raised an eyebrow and his lip curled with confused amusement. "What does that have to do with the way I treat your friends?"

She shrugged and gave a defeated sigh. "I'm just trying to work you out."

"No, you're not." He pushed himself up off the arm and kicked his legs over the side of the sofa. "You're prying, like your little lemur friend was trying to do last night."

She hugged herself again and looked away from him, at a loss for words. She had been prying, and she'd not even realised she was doing it. And his staring was making her feel incredibly uneasy. She backed away slightly from his intense gaze, but he rose from the sofa and approached her slowly, backing her into the wall.

"Okay, I'll play," he said with a smirk. "You're right. I don't know what romantic love feels like. But I was always told I know when I felt it."

Amy's heart pounded frantically, and she placed her hands on the wall behind her, groping for a non-existent door. Something to slip through to separate herself from the jackal towering over her.

"My pulse would race, and I wouldn't want to leave her side," he went on. "I'd feel weak yet like I could move a mountain. I'd want to do anything for her, even give my life to save hers if I had to. No words would be able to express my feelings, so voicing them would be pointless. But believe me, she'd know. She'd see it in my eyes. Hear it in my voice. Feel it in my touch." He was almost nose to nose with her at that point. He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "Does that sound about right to you?"

Amy's legs trembled and she stuttered over the first letter of her next words to an embarrassing extent. "Pretty much…"

"Perfect." He stood back from her and straightened up again. "Then I guess I passed your little test?"

"What test?" Amy's voice still wavered and she fought desperately to quiet her racing heart. "I wasn't testing you."

"You were," he said. "All this started because you were concerned about the way I treat your friends."

Yes, it had. How on earth had it escalated into all that? She trailed her fingers through her quills, still leaning back against the wall. Her legs shook so much she feared she was going to slide down it onto her bottom.

"You asked me if I'd ever had a girlfriend," he went on. "But you never asked me anything about having any friends. I had those in abundance, sugar. Friends joke with each other." He fixed her in a one-eyed stare. "They don't dote on each other."

She finally found the strength to push herself back from the wall and idly smoothed out her dress.

"So that's what you were doing?" she asked. "You were joking with Tangle when you insulted her?"

"No. Truth is, I can't stand her." He raised both hands in a shrug. "But… if it means so much to you, I'll make the effort to… put up with her." He said the last words through clenched teeth. As if the sheer thought pained him.

Amy frowned up at him, locking her eyes on his. "I appreciate it."

Whisper appeared in the doorway to the corridor and looked between the two of them, a look of confusion crossing her dainty face. Then she beamed.

"Coffee?" she asked.

Infinite let out a small grunt and turned to watch the wolf as she busied herself by the coffee machine. Only two mugs. Years back, Amy would have questioned Whisper on that. But she knew her all too well. She'd always be willing to do something for others before rushing out to run her own errands.

Amy said a quick thanks as she pulled out her computer, wanting to do anything to take her mind off the conversation that had just unfolded between herself and the jackal. Her friends had always called her a romantic. Obsessed with shoujo light novels and rom-coms. Always probing to find out which of her friends had a crush on who. And now she could feel the awkwardness descending over them like a blanket. Although Infinite didn't seem to care. He was occupying himself by assisting Whisper in the kitchenette. Had he actually taken what she'd said to heart?

Amy shook it off and flopped onto the sofa, bringing up the news site out of habit. She was actually wanting the celebrity news, to see what Mainframe's most famous were wearing. An insight into what styles might suddenly be in demand. But instead, her eye was drawn to the top headline.

'Inside the Deranged Mind of Mainframe's Heartbreaker.'

Her brain didn't process the word 'deranged' until she actually brought up the news article. Once again, she'd been more fixated on the word 'Heartbreaker'. Once again, her obsession with the romantic taking over before she could even realise the article was actually about a serial killer.

Three recent, registered deaths. Along with the suspicion he'd killed at least two others before any victim had actually been discovered. Each one made to look like a suicide. How had all that flown under her radar? Of course… she'd been too fixated and bogged down with her house move to pay much attention to the news headlines. And it had only become public knowledge two days ago, if that.

Amy's mouth hung open as she read over the news article. Nothing went untouched. The mysterious method the killer used, the locked rooms with no clear indication as to how the killer had come or gone, a spotless crime scene, mind-boggling puzzles that were not easy to discover or decipher. As she drew closer to the end of the article, she became aware of her racing heart.

Then a hot cup of coffee found its way into her hand. She looked up into a lone, orange-tinted eye just as the door opened and Whisper muttered a 'g'bye!' before closing it behind her.

Off to meet Tangle. That had been what she'd announced while Amy was deeply, and fearfully, transfixed by the news article.

Infinite stood watching her, cradling his own mug in his hands. "You've lost some of your pinkness. Are you feeling okay?"

She rubbed the back of her head and lowered her computer, trying to avoid his probing stare.

"I… erm…" Her voice choked and she paused to clear her throat. "There's a serial killer lose in this city."

"Ah, yes. I've heard about that." He sat down beside her, causing her to scoot towards the other end of the sofa. A small frown appeared on his muzzle and his golden eye narrowed. "Why are you moving away from me?"

"They think the first one happened three weeks ago, only a few miles outside Central City. But everyone thought the guy took his own life." She paused to take in a steadying breath. "Isn't that when you escaped from GUN?"

Infinite flashed one of his canines, and the fur stood on end along his spine. Amy had to fight the urge to whip out her mallet.

"You think it's me?" The calmness in his voice didn't match the rage in his eye at all.

"I don't know," she gasped. "But… everything seems to… have you even read this?"

She turned her computer towards him and he immediately abandoned his mug to the coffee table to snatch it from her. He scanned over it, lips moving silently to the words as he scrolled through the article. Then he lowered the computer and stared at the far wall.

"See?" She gave a small shrug and let her hands flop onto her lap. "You can't really blame-"

"Why do you think it's me?" he asked.

"You just read it," she said. "The tidiness… no clear breaking or entering. And as for the cause of death, there are no powers like that recorded anywhere in Mainframe. Can't you-"

He tossed her computer discourteously onto the table and rose to his feet. For a fleeting moment, Amy thought he was about to leave, but instead he paced back and forth between the kitchenette and the coat stand, muttering to himself.

She pushed herself from the sofa, but didn't move towards him. Instead, she wound her hands together, once again considering grabbing her hammer just perchance she might need it.

"If it isn't you, then who?" she asked.

"I don't know!" He stopped and threw his arms in the air. "Someone trying to frame me? I can't…" He began pacing again, and actually removed his mask to run his hands down his face. "You actually think it's me?!"

"Can you blame me?" she gasped. "I've only known you for three weeks! And during that time you have killed people! Lots of people!"

"In self defense!"

"That's beside the point! You also dragged me around on a chain and called me names! For all I knew, you only saw me as some convenient meat shield!"

"And what I said yesterday meant nothing to you?!"

He fell backwards into the breakfast bar and covered his face with his hands. She couldn't tell if he was crying or not. With the sounds he was making and the way his shoulders were shaking, he could easily have been laughing. Laughing at the absurdity of her assumption.

"Of course it did," she said.

"I meant every word."

She hugged her arms around herself. "So did I."

"Then why? Why are you accusing me of this?"

"I'm not accusing you," she said softly.

"You are. And it's pretty clear you're worried I might make you into a victim."

She clenched her mouth shut and looked away from him.

"I said I'd never hurt you." His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat to mask it. "I meant that."

"I know." She blinked back tears from her eyes. "But for the past two weeks, you went out without me a lot. With all the evidence laid out right there, can you see why I might be concerned?"

"It's not me, Amy," he said flatly. "It might look like it, but it's not."

He trailed off and replaced his mask, refusing to look at her.

"Then someone really wants it to look like it's you," she said. "Unless…"

He tensed, tail bristling. She took it as a sign to choose her words carefully.

She licked her lips and leant back against the arm of the sofa. "You told me the Phantom Ruby has some level of sentience. Could it be… acting out?"

"What? Making me do something with no memory of it?" he spat.

"Is it really such an absurd idea?"

He lifted his hands in a feeble shrug. "No."

"You said you fell asleep on a park bench," Amy went on. "And that was the night that little girl died."

Infinite took in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. Crimson light surrounded his hands and he brought his fist down into the counter top with a mighty smash, sending small cracks exploding across the marble surface. "It isn't me!"

Amy stifled a squeal as she leapt back from the sofa, staring wide-eyed between the jackal and her cracked breakfast bar. He stared at it with a matching expression of shock and horror, his breath coming in quick bursts. Then he turned from it and made a bee-line for the door.

Amy gave herself a mental shake and took off after him, grabbing him by the wrist. "Wait! Please…"

He faltered in the open doorway, avoiding her emerald gaze.

"I believe you," she said. "If you don't remember it, then how can it be you? And if something is controlling you, you'd just be a puppet."

"Nothing is controlling me," he spat.

"It doesn't matter either way. You're my friend, and I want to help you. Because if someone is trying to frame you, then… then you could end up back with GUN. Or Gadget."

He closed his eye and let out a weak sigh.

"Please?" She tightened her grip on his wrist and screwed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry I leapt to conclusions like that. Neither of us really know each other, but I shouldn't…" She trailed off and swiped her hand over her eyes.

He let the door close and turned to face her as much as her death-grip on his wrist would allow. He trailed a hand over her quills and she looked up at him, finding a half-smirk on his muzzle.

"Allow me to put your mind at ease," he said. "When I had a target, I wanted to make sure my face was the last thing they'd see. And I didn't care about the mess."

Her jaw went slack and she felt an odd chill run down her spine.

"This killer's method?" He gave a small shrug. "It really isn't my style. Now…" He released her and looked over at the breakfast bar. "Drat, it looks like I broke that during my little tantrum. Do you want me to fix it for you?"

Amy made a thoughtful noise and forced a smile. "It might be a good idea, otherwise I won't be seeing my security deposit."

He chuckled and made his way back to the bar. A frown tugged at his muzzle and he placed his hand upon it, tapping into his Phantom Ruby. A flash of red exploded out over the top of it, causing all the cracks to vanish. But once the light subsided, they reappeared in the exact same pattern. He leant forwards on it, taking a few deep breaths.

Amy rushed to his side and placed a hand on his back. "Are you okay?"

He waved a weak hand and pushed himself back up again. Another flash of crimson light. This time, the cracks didn't return.

Infinite clutched the edge of the bar, panting as he dragged himself onto one of the bar stools.

"Infinite, what's going on?" Amy asked. "This isn't-"

"I know," he growled, leaning his head on one hand and pinching his muzzle. "I've been trying to work it out."

Amy stared at him for a moment and licked her dry lips. "Is it… broken?"

He snorted and shook his head. "It feels more like I'm constantly using it." He looked up at her then, taking in her stunned expression. His mouth turned down in a sad frown and he dug his fingers into the marble. "That's why I got so upset when you accused me. I knew about those killings. I spent a lot of time in the Chaos Network over the past few days. And hearing you put it into words… Part of me… is worried you might be right."

...

Rough's ship was still hovering over the Beatdrop Capital, shrouded in its cloak. Tumble had lurked around beneath it for a good few hours before vanishing once again into the shadows.

The space pirate captain had barely slept a wink, fighting to stay awake while Gadget worked meticulously on his gravity weapon. Rough had ran over various fictitious renditions of their conversation in his head. Reasons as to why Gadget hadn't told him the gun was broken. The wolf would have lead them both to their deaths, unless he'd had some plan to have Rough die at the hands of his brother. A plan that had gone wrong. But then why reveal to him his weapon was broken?

So far, Gadget had shown no desire to take over his ship. He also hadn't revealed to him why the weapon was broken. Just that it had been dropped recently.

The wolf worked with an intense focus, occasionally muttering to himself - or to the gun - as he fiddled around with its insides. Rough's entire bridge had been turned into some kind of morbid mechanical butcher's room. Screws and fine slips of plastic lay strewn around it, amid a tangle of wires some of which had been burned out. Rough knew very little about the makings of technology, but he was fairly certain wires shouldn't burn like that inside the very machines they are meant to be operating. He was also fairly certain a mere drop wouldn't cause that. The insulation should have been enough to protect the wires from any overheating. Right?

The skunk scratched his mohawk and leant back against the wall. "You almost done, doc? 'Cos I wanna fly this ship outta this joint. She could use some fuel."

"Then fly." Gadget didn't look up from his work. Still crouching over it with his tongue poking out between his lips.

"You sure?" Rough grunted. "'Cos last time I tried to get past, you told me if I stood on anythin' you'd chop off me legs."

Gadget pushed himself up enough to beam at the skunk. He waved his hand towards the captain's seat.

"If you can get through here with the grace of a ballet dancer, then be my guest," he said.

Rough narrowed his eyes at him, trying to work out if he should actually take up the wolf's challenge. But in contrast he actually had as much grace as a cannonball in a mosh pit that had had a bit too much to drink. So he let out a sigh and waved a dismissive hand.

"Fine, just hurry it up," he said. "Otherwise we won't be in the air for much longer."

Gadget sat back on his haunches and rotated the body of his gun in his hands. "How much longer do you estimate?"

"I dunno." Rough shrugged and brushed back his mohawk. "Probably have enough fuel to last until tomorrow sundown."

"Then we aren't exactly in a rush, are we?"

"Refuelin' station is at Pulse City, doc. It'll take us about six hours to fly there!"

"My estimates is that Violet Station is closer." Gadget looked up from his gun to smirk at him. "Four and a half hours, if you fly at hyperdrive."

Rough balled his hands into fists. "I ain't welcome at that space station."

"Well I'm not welcome anywhere." Gadget returned to jabbing at the guts of his gun, with a little more violence than Rough deemed necessary. "And I have you and your little friends to thank for that."

A chill shot down the skunk's spine, and for a fleeting moment he actually considered grabbing the wolf by the back of his trench coat and tossing him from his ship. Rough rubbed the bridge of his muzzle and stifled a groan. It was beginning to cross his mind, and not for the first time, that there was more to Gadget's 'help' than one could see on the surface. Some kind of elaborate revenge, maybe? Well… Rough needed him. No… Tumble needed him. And if there was any chance he could get that help off Gadget then he was taking it. And so long as the wolf was unarmed, Rough had the upper hand.

He pushed himself back from the wall and strode over the mess on his floor towards his chair. Gadget let out a pained wail as a tangle of wires crunched beneath the skunk's boot.

"You don't need the burned ones," Rough said as he flopped into his seat.

Gadget's protests were drowned out over the roar of the engine, and the little black ship rose further into the sky. Hyperdrive would take up way too much gas. But the next step down might get them to Pulse City in less time than he'd previously guessed.

The ship lurched forwards, and the roar became a steady hum. Peppered by the clattering of screws and bits of plastic and metal skittering across the floor of his bridge.

"You moron!" Gadget spat as he clambered across the floor to gather them back up. "I had that all organized!"

"Aye, an organized mess," Rough retorted.

He caught Gadget's livid eyes in the reflection of his windscreen.

"You try anythin', doc," he warned, "then you'll find out just how high up we are. Eh?"

"Are you threatening me, pirate?"

"Pot, kettle, black." Rough sat back in his seat and tucked his hands behind his head, keeping one eye on the wolf's leering reflection. "Besides. You might find one or two things to fix your gun in Pulse City."

"You really think I'm going to waltz around in a city filled with mercenaries?!"

Rough flashed his canines in a small grin. "How about I trade you some cloaking technology for your obedience?"

Gadget's features softened and he lowered his gun. "I'm listening."

Rough chuckled and glanced back at him over his shoulder. "Pulse City's a hot-spot for cloaking technology. Ships need it. But it's mighty expensive. You promise me you'll save my brother and spare both our lives, I'll scoop up some plans for ya and let you go." He lifted a finger as Gadget opened his mouth to speak. "And! You never come after either of us ever again. Or my friends."

Gadget narrowed his eyes. "Which friends?"

"Team Datastream."

Gadget's tail swished behind him and his lips turned up in a smile. "All right. You have a deal, pirate."

"Excellent." Rough settled back in his seat. "You know what, doc? You'd make a pretty good space pirate."

Gadget spat, his entire focus on his gravity weapon. "Say that again and I'll turn you into a throw rug."

...

**Review Replies:**

**Rycorop - Hmm, he's certainly found something key. Shadow might make a pretty good detective ;)**

**A/N - Fun fact - there's a _Friends_ quote somewhere in this chapter. Did you find it?**

**Thanks for reading everyone! =D As always, please R&R!**


	30. Special - Winter Warmers

**A/N - I wanted to write a fluffy Christmas one-shot for The Mainframe Saga, so here it is!**

**There were a few restrictions. Given the timing I'd be posting this, I couldn't use ANY of the potential suspects from the current arc. The main reason here is that Book 2 is set at the tail-end of summer. This one-shot is set during winter. So anything that could give away spoilers needed to be avoided like the plague. **

**Also, given Team Datastream's absence in the current arc, I wanted to use them. As such, this little fluffy heart-warmer was created.**

**I hope you enjoy it! =D**

**Thanks again everyone for the reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Christmas Special

Winter Warmers

One of the upsides to Pulse City was its heated dome at winter. That glass barrier provided more than just a means to stop people falling off the floating city, but when they closed the roof during winter and let that low heat radiate through it… bliss.

Mind you, there were some flaws. The docks remained wide open. And given the sheer number of ships the city had to cater for, it was a pretty large space. The cold wind whipped through it, peppering the docks and exposed ships with snow.

Tsunami often wondered how such a huge city remained airborne. It was at least the size of North and East Cipher and the Beatdrop Capital combined. It needed to be. Some of those ships were huge. Most of them were the size of small houses, like hers. Others were huge cargo ships that came, dropped off their shipments, then went again. Most were more like private jets with no sleeping accommodation, and those remained in the docks for days… or even weeks.

Tsunami let out a sigh as she leant against the metal barrier. The only thing between her and the warm glass. The last of the snow melted off her scales, vanishing over the edge into the unseen depths below. The rest of her crew were still aboard the Raptor, making the last of the repairs. It had been her job to touch up the paintwork. Her decision to do it during a blizzard. Well… the blizzard hadn't been a thing until shortly after she started, and she wasn't one to leave a job unfinished. Crash had insisted she go and get a hot chocolate and sit somewhere warm, given the ship's heating hadn't been fixed yet. Decode was on that, flat on his back beneath the control deck while he poked and pulled at various wires. His tail looking a little frazzled from what Tsunami had guessed was from a mistake he would likely never admit to.

Yep. Even geniuses made mistakes.

The pangolin sipped her hot cocoa, letting the warmth of it flow through her from the inside. She let her eyes drift shut and sank further against the barrier. At least from here she couldn't feel so much as a draft from the docks.

"Hey, Nami!"

Her eyes snapped back open and she looked up as a familiar skunk joined her side. He clutched a beer glass in his hands about which Tsunami guessed the bartender would have something to say. She glanced over her shoulder towards the run-down pub behind her. Situated only a block or two from the cafe.

"You're getting a little bit too comfortable around me, pirate," she said.

"Ah come on," said Rough. "You're not exactly pullin' out yer laser on me."

"I will if you give me a reason to." It was meant to be a warning, but the skunk clearly took it as a joke.

Once he'd done laughing, he settled himself on the barrier. "I thought you were away. I weren't expectin' you back just yet. Last I heard, you were on yer way to Server One."

The space station…

Tsunami sipped her drink again as she stared blankly at the frosted glass. "We ran into some trouble."

"Really?" The skunk grinned at that. "What kinda trouble? Space pirates?"

"I can handle space pirates," Tsunami grunted. "No. A flux wave. We got caught in it, and it messed up the electronics. It had also ripped away part of the meteorite belt. We're lucky the Raptor didn't get hammered."

Rough's ears drooped. "Yikes! Didn't anyone like forecast that?"

"You can't forecast flux waves. They can't be detected until they happen. This one just happened to be too close to the meteorite belt. We took out the worst of them, so they shouldn't be a problem to Mainframe. But we won't be fulfilling our request until the flux has faded."

He grunted and sipped his beer. "I've not been to a space station in years. Always were wary of flux waves."

"They're uncommon," said Tsunami. "We were just unlucky."

"I'd say you were pretty lucky to come outta it at all."

"My ship's top grade. If you went through it in a paper plane like yours, you'd be shredded to bits."

Rough flashed a canine at her. "Hey! Don't trash a man's ship, Nami. It ain't cool."

Tsunami chuckled and shook her head. "You space pirates are all the same."

"Yeah, well, I built that ship." He stared at her for a moment then took another swig of his drink. "So what's the damage? Anythin' I can help with?"

"No need. My crew's on it."

"An extra pair of hands don't hurt, Nami. I told ya. I built my own ship. I know what I'm doin'."

Tsunami gave him a sideways glance. "Are you looking for a job?"

He spread a hand in a shrug. "Gotta pay my rent, and I'm still flyin' solo."

Great. Tug the heart strings. She closed her eyes and sighed. "All right. If you know what you're doing. I'll pay by the hour. But I'd wait until the blizzard's over."

"Got caught in it, eh?" He chuckled again, sending some of his drink sloshing over into the dome.

"Well, I'd rather be caught in a blizzard than a flux wave."

"You're still lookin' a bit damp."

"I'll dry."

The pair stood in silence for a moment, gazing out at what little they could see beyond the dome. Snow piled up on it, drifting away as it rapidly melted against the warm glass and trailed off as slush. What was left of the frosty coating blurred the night-cloaked world beyond. Not a single star twinkled, hidden away behind a mass of clouds as the sky dropped its fluffy present onto Mainframe's surface.

"Once we've got your ship repaired," said Rough, "I kinda wanna see what the suburbs around Node City look like. Been a long time since I've romped around in the snow."

"That could be quite nice, actually," said Tsunami. "It'd probably cheer up Crash and Decode, too. That journey back was a rocky one."

Rough glanced up at her. "What damage are we lookin' at exactly?"

She rubbed a hand over her head scales. "One of the engines was ripped right off. All power to the control deck was severed, including the central heating. Decode's working on that, while Crash sources us a new engine. A few scuffs along the sides, which I've painted along the left flank. Some dents still need hammering out on the right side, along with more paintwork."

"Yikes." Rough grimaced. "All your power's out?"

"Fortunately it didn't take out the auto pilot."

"Yeah, otherwise you'd still be hoverin' around up there waitin' for a pick up."

Tsunami bit back the urge to tell him that would have been the best case scenario. Instead she took a good drink of her now luke-warm cocoa.

"We'll get it sorted out," he continued. "You'll be airborne again in no time."

Tsunami nodded once and bit her lip. Why couldn't she actually thank this pirate?

He fixed her with one red eye. "You cold?"

"No."

"Dang it." He sighed into his glass.

Tsunami looked back up at the dome. The snow was beginning to ease. No longer whipped up in a flurry, plastering thick coats of snow onto the heated glass.

"It looks like it's starting to ease off," she said. "I'm gonna head back to my ship and see how my crew's getting on."

"I'll come with ya." Rough pushed himself back from the barrier.

"Return that beer glass first," she said.

"I was gonna."

She watched him swagger back towards the bar. Could she lose him? No… she'd offered him the job, and she did need her ship repairing. But was that the real reason she'd done it? She clenched her jaw and shook her head hard. Of course it was the real reason.

Right?

Before she could continue her mental warfare, the grinning skunk was back at her side.

"All right," he said. "Let's take a look at that damage."

She nodded and turned back towards the docks, striding through the busy street. Space pirates, mercenaries, Phantom Thieves… no one gave either her or Rough the time of day. All too busy with their own lives.

Snow still drifted down over the docks with thick, heavy flakes. What lay on the ground was trodden down into slush, but fluffy piles of it collected by the bollards and against the exposed walls of the storehouses. Mounds of snow lay heavy on the golden wings of the Raptor. Crash perched on its back, frowning at a huge gash on its tail fin where one of the twin engines used to be.

"Any joy?" she called up to the pangolin.

He fixed his blue eyes on her and one of his playful grins graced his muzzle. He nodded and made his way to the ship's hooked nose, sliding down it to land in a crouch on the docks.

"What's he doing here?" He inclined his head at Rough as he rose to his feet.

"I'm paying him to help us," Tsunami explained. Before Crash could protest, she raised a hand. "We need all the help we can get. I'm not going to turn my nose up at his offer if it'll help us get the Raptor back in the sky."

Crash closed his mouth and shrugged. "Fine. Maybe he can start by hammering out the dents?"

He pulled a hammer from his tool belt and offered it to the space pirate. Rough took it and juggled it in one hand.

"Don't make a mess," Crash warned.

"I know what I'm doin'," Rough muttered as he strutted over towards the ship's right flank.

Crash kept one eye on him as he asked, "What are you doing, Nami?"

"I told you." Tsunami turned from her twin to head into her ship. "Keep a watch on him. I'm going to see how Decode is doing."

The lights were back on. That was a start. Decode sat at the control deck, tapping away at the various buttons. The air inside the bridge was still bitter cold, and from the bush baby's mutterings, the heating wasn't co-operating as well as he'd hoped.

Omochao hovered by the primate's head, offering his own expert advise.

"I can see you're making progress," said Tsunami.

"Not fast progress," said Decode. "I think the radiator has well and truly had it."

Great… another setback. Tsunami hugged her arms around herself and grimaced.

"We might have to sleep in a huge cozy pile tonight," said Decode. "Either that, or find a hotel at the last minute."

Tsunami pursed her lips as something Rough said echoed in her mind.

'I kinda wanna see what the suburbs around Node City look like.'

Node City…

Tsunami rushed from the bridge.

Decode raised an eyebrow. "What's the matter? Was it something I said?"

"I wouldn't take it personally," said Omochao. "She probably has a chill."

Tsunami skidded to a halt, clutching a bollard to stop herself. Rough was busy on the hull, hammer clanging away and poking his tongue between his lips in concentration.

"How many people can fit on your ship?" she asked.

He jerked his head around with a start, his eyes wide. "Huh?"

"How many?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Three? Any more'n that, it gets pretty cozy."

"Cozy it is." She turned towards the Raptor's nose.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we're going to Node City," she said. "Put the hammer away and warm your engines up."

"Singular."

"Eh?"

"My ship only has one engine," he said. "It ain't some fancy long-haul like yours, Nami."

She waved him off and clambered up the nose of the Raptor. Crash was once again perched by the damaged tail, tugging off the frayed and ragged ends with a pair of pliers.

"Crash!"

He didn't look up. "Yeah?"

"Come on. We're calling it a night."

He did look up then, his muzzle twisting with confusion. "We've got a lot of work to do, Nami. The engine's arriving tomorrow evening."

"Then that's even more reason," she said. "We're cold, exhausted… So I'm suggesting we take a break. I'm gonna book us a hotel in Node City. Rough will take us."

The pliers clattered to the roof, leaving a scuff. "A space pirate? What's gotten into you, Nami?"

"I'm too tired to think straight. Are you coming?"

He stood up and dusted himself down. "Sure. I'm not complaining about a break. Why Node, exactly?"

A small smile tugged at Tsunami's lips. "I thought it might be fun to see the snow."

Crash laughed at that. "There's plenty of it here."

"There's also a lot of space pirates. The suburbs around Node City are quiet."

"All right." Crash placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her back towards the docks. "But we might need to work together to pull Decode away from the control deck. He's pretty desperate to get the heating working again."

Tsunami chuckled and shook her head. "Then lure him away with games."

...

It certainly was rather cozy.

Tsunami sat upfront with Rough, which Crash insisted on. The larger pangolin sat behind his twin on the floor, huddled against the wall. Decode was opposite him with his legs crossed, playing some game on his pocket computer. Omochao flitted back and forth watching the bush baby. The chao-droid had wanted to stay behind and watch the ship, but Tsunami had told him that wasn't an option. Sure, the little robot could take care of himself. But he was every bit a part of her crew as her flesh and blood members.

Rough was oddly quiet, his full attention on getting his ship safely through the snow storm. It had started up again shortly after they left Pulse City, and fluffy white flakes whipped up in the wind, hammering the hull with a deceptive amount of force. The ship's lights reflected off the flakes, making it look more like they were traveling through a swirling galaxy.

Node City's lights twinkled through the darkness as it emerged through the blizzard. Tsunami had barely noticed it, too lost in her own thoughts. It was only an hour away from Pulse City… well, an hour below it. But they weren't aiming for the city. The ship leveled out over the southern suburbs, right above the bare canopy of a little almond grove.

Rough pushed himself from his seat and stretched. "All right, we're here. All in one piece, yeah?"

Decode looked up at his friends, blinking his large pink eyes. "What, already? Yikes, I thought I'd make it at least to level ten."

He tucked his computer away in his belt pouch and took Crash's offered hand. The pangolin tugged him to his feet and ushered him off ahead of them.

Omochao flitted before Tsunami's face. "Permission to stay aboard the ship, ma'am? I'm afraid snow does not agree with my circuits."

She looked to Rough and raised an eyebrow. The skunk's muzzle creased and he bared a canine.

"I ain't gonna steal him," he said. "It's technically kidnappin'. I don't deal in that trade."

Tsunami sighed and closed her eyes. "I was actually going to ask if you minded."

"Oh, sorry." Rough chuckled. "Sure I don't mind. Thing is, Nami, you so often think the worst o' me, you can't blame me for leapin' to conclusions."

"You might be a pirate, but I don't exactly take you for an android-napper." Tsunami swung herself onto the ladder and dropped the short distance to the ground.

The thick snow cushioned her fall and she rose to search for her friends. Crash had already situated himself behind one of the trees. He wore a silly grin on his face as he attempted to snipe Decode with snowballs.

The bush baby ducked and ran while grabbing snow in his hands. It went soaring towards Crash, sending him ducking back behind the tree.

Tsunami shook her head and smiled. "Typical boys."

Then her spine stiffened as something cold spread over her head scales. Rough doubled over with raucous laughter, clutching his snowy hands to his stomach. She swiped off the frosty snow and turned her narrowed eyes onto him.

"Seriously?!" She flicked the snow at him, making him flinch slightly.

"Come on," he said. "Lighten up a bit. It's fun."

"I thought you wanted to come here to see the snow, not play in it."

He grinned as he stooped to gather up a massive mound of snow in his hands, not taking his eyes off her. Tsunami backed away from him, lifting her hands before her chest.

"No no no…"

Rough smoothed the snow into a large ball and juggled it. "Better run then, Nami!"

The pangolin didn't need telling twice. She took off through the grove, racing past Crash and Decode. The large snowball soared after her. She swung her tail, cleaving it and sending one half splatting up the side of a tree. The branches swayed, sending down a flurry of flakes and ice.

Rough scooped up another snowball as he raced after her. The grin turned into shock as snow struck his left ear.

"Got your back, sis!"

Crash ducked behind his tree again as Rough changed his target. The snowball missed the pangolin by a mile.

Decode joined Rough's side as the pirate flicked melting snow from his mohawk. Decode nodded towards Crash who was arming himself with a small pile of snowballs.

"I'll take Crash," said the bush baby. "You go after Nami."

"Seriously?" Tsunami rolled her eyes as she resigned herself to grabbing her own frosty weapon. "I guess I don't have much choice, do I?"

"No." Rough sent his newly formed snowball right into her shoulder.

Tsunami leapt aside, curling into a ball as she rolled to safety. She leapt back up just outside the grove. Using her tail, she cleaved away at the snow, creating a little trench for herself. Beyond it, snowballs were flying back and forth. Five limbs against two. Decode was pretty handy with his tail when he needed to be.

Tsunami busied herself by building up a supply of snowballs. Once she was stocked up, she'd be in good form to aid her brother in this silly war.

Outnumbered, Crash curled up and barreled his way towards his sister. He popped back up in her trench and swiped slush from his muzzle.

"Whew!" He gave his sister a playful grin. "Those guys are tough!"

Tsunami grunted and added another ball to her pile. "I might have to have a word with Decode about a little thing called 'mutiny'."

Crash laughed and helped himself to her ammo. He tossed it up and down a couple of times, then punted it towards their two foes. Decode and Rough scattered, letting the snowball soar between them. Right where the little bush baby had been standing.

"Drat." Crash helped himself to another ball.

"He's nimble," Tsunami reminded him. "If we're going to hit Decode at all, we need to be sneaky."

Squeals filled the air, drawing the pangolin twins' attention to the bush Decode had hidden behind. He scurried out of it, arms over his head, as snowballs rained down on him from above. Rough poked his head out from behind a tree and raised an eyebrow at the canopy. Tsunami and Crash followed his gaze, but Decode's assailant was well hidden. The branches bucked and swayed as something invisible scrambled through them.

Crash juggled another snowball, watching the branches with a calculating intensity. Then he tossed it with full force. It exploded against a solid body, gaining a grunt in return. Decode's assailant dropped from the tree, landing spread-eagled in the snow.

The two pangolins climbed from their trench and crouched on either side of the hole - a perfect splayed-out shape in the thick snow. A purple chameleon blinked up at them with a stunned expression on his face.

"Way to go, Espio." Vector stood behind Crash with his arms crossed.

Rough and Decode joined them, the former leering up at the crocodile. Charmy buzzed around Vector's head, clutching a snowball much too large for him.

"What are you guys doin' here?" Rough scoffed.

"We could ask you the same thing," Vector retorted.

"We're playing snowballs!" said Charmy.

The oversized ammo slipped from his hands with a 'whoops!' just as Espio sat up, rubbing his head. The snowball exploded over him, burying the chameleon completely and splattering Tsunami and Crash in the process.

"Now look what you did!" Vector laughed, shaking his head.

He bent over and thrust his large hand into the snow. Espio dangled from it by the tail, his mouth pulled down in a frown.

"I am seriously off my game today," he said.

"Hey, I've got an idea," said Decode. "Now that there's more of us, why don't we do teams?"

"We were already doin' teams!" said Rough. "You were on mine!"

"Calm down, Rough." Crash tucked his arms behind his head and smiled at the skunk. "This could be fun. A little 'Pirates Versus Mercenaries' action."

"Yes," said Espio, still hanging upside down. "Except without the bloodshed."

"Aye!" said Vector. "A little PG action that's perfectly safe, and fun for all the family!"

Espio folded his arms and frowned up at the crocodile. "Stop breaking the fourth wall, Vector!"

"What, so if we're doin' this, I have to be on your side?" Rough pointed a claw at the Chaotix. "Four against three hardly seems fair, does it?"

"At least you'll be on the winnin' side," said Vector.

Rough slumped slightly, bristling, and a low growl rose in his throat.

Crash slapped a huge hand on his back, almost bowling the skunk over. "Come on, Rough! It'll be fun!"

"We'll toss some rules in as well," said Decode. "You get hit three times, you're out. First team down to zero members loses."

Charmy threw his arms in the air. "Yeah!"

"That makes this whole 'four against three' thing even more unfair!" said Rough.

Tsunami met Rough's eyes and stood up straight, tossing a snowball up and down in one hand. "Sounds fun to me. Mercs Versus Pirates? I'm game."

"Then game on!" Vector grinned down at the bristling skunk. "What's it gonna be, Rough? You joinin' us, or sulkin' on the sidelines?"

"Come on, Rough," said Decode. "It was your idea to come here in the first place."

Rough leered at the Chaotix silently. Then he sighed. "Fine." He joined Vector's side and fixed Team Datastream in a grin. "You guys are goin' down."

"That's the spirit!" Vector struck Rough on the back, sending him face-first into the snow. "Oops! My bad!"

Charmy buzzed by the skunk's head, laughing like a lunatic.

Espio quirked an eyebrow at Vector. "You did that on purpose."

Tsunami grimaced and exchanged glances with her allies. "If these guys are our opponents, then I think we're going to win this."

"With bells on." Crash grinned.

...

The grove was split into two, with Datastream's trench on one side and the space pirates scheming away on the other. Tsunami and Crash piled up snowballs while Decode devised a plan of action. Tsunami and Decode had taken a hit already, while Crash had taken two in quick succession thanks to Espio's sneaky camouflage. Decode had dealt with the chameleon swiftly before Crash was taken out altogether. It hadn't taken the space pirates long to work out Crash's aim was top-notch. As an explosives expert, he needed good aim. Otherwise things could take a rather nasty turn.

Tsunami peered over the edge of the trench towards the space pirates, and her heart sank. Only three. Where had that sneaky chameleon gone?

"Eyes above, guys," she whispered.

"I've already noticed," said Decode. He trailed a twig through the snow, sketching out his plan ideas. He'd scrubbed two already. "If I've worked it out, he's in the low branches of the second tree on our right."

Crash nailed the branch with a snowball, hitting nothing but air. He sighed and sank back in the trench.

"Remember days without snowballs?" he said. "Warm… safe… dry…"

"Hang in there, soldier," said Tsunami. "The war will be over soon."

"I miss my family," said Crash. "I can't even remember what Omochao looks like."

"What are you plans after this?" Decode asked. "Once the war is over?"

Crash blinked his bleary eyes. "I was thinking of hitting Rave City. Catching a concert. Letting myself get lost in the music."

"Sounds like bliss."

"You?"

"I'm gonna eat something other than snow," said Decode. "Maybe a pizza."

"Ahh, pizza." Crash rolled his head back against the ditch. "Oh, I remember pizza. Little Darcy loved pizza."

Tsunami's eyes widened and she ducked behind the trench. "Bee at ten-o-clock!"

Crash rose up and punted a snowball. Charmy spiraled from the sky with a squeal, landing head first in the snow.

The pangolin fist-pumped the air. "That's three, Charmy! You're out!"

The little bee fluttered into the air and hung his head. "Aww, man!"

Crash sank back down in the ditch, and Decode stared at him.

"Who on earth is Darcy?" Decode asked. "Five minutes ago, your daughter was called Glitch."

"Oh yeah." Crash rubbed his head. "I should probably write this stuff down."

"Nah, you'll lose the immersion." Decode jerked his head up and tossed a snowball. It narrowly skimmed Espio's tail before he vanished into thin air. "We've got a chameleon, guys!"

Tsunami spun on the spot, grabbing a snowball in each hand. Crash scrambled from the ditch, twisting to avoid an aerial assault. He fired off his ammo into the trees, aiming for any branch that dipped. But Espio had worked out his strategy. He used his camouflage to his advantage, mixing up his pattern.

Crash tried to follow the invisible reptile with his eyes, but each snowball missed its mark.

The bushes rustled behind them, and Tsunami jerked her head towards it. The snowball took her by surprise, smashing against Crash's scales.

"No!" she yelled.

Crash turned to see the snow coating his back, then he slumped forwards, keeling over.

Decode rushed to his side, but Tsunami's eyes were on the bush. A fluffy tail vanished beyond it. Laughter.

Crash blinked his bleary eyes. "It's over for me, guys."

"Don't be silly!" said Decode. "You'll be fine!"

"No… No… It's over." Crash faked a grimace and dug his fingers into the trampled snow. "Tell Glitch I… I…" Then his eyes closed and his arms went limp.

"Tell her what?" Decode shook him, his voice turning frantic. "Tell her what?!" Then he screwed his eyes shut. "No! Come back to me, Crash!"

Tsunami shook her head and took off after Rough's tail. His fresh footprints blended with the old ones, making tracking him near impossible. Then she spotted it. A trail leading out of the grove.

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily!"

She picked up pace, racing over the snow. A thick patch of ferns rustled ahead of her. She bounced a snowball in her right hand and sent it flying towards it.

A grunt.

Rough shook the snow off his head then scampered into another bush. Two hits so far. One more and he was out.

She saw him vanish behind a blackberry bush. She curled into a ball to avoid the prickles and barreled through it, uncurling in time to see his startled face. He dodged out of the way, sending her face-first into the snow.

She reached up and grabbed his tail, dragging him flat onto his back. Gathering up her dropped snowball, she scrambled over to the fallen skunk.

"Game over, pirate," she said.

He widened his eyes. "Nami… you wouldn't hit me while I'm down, would ya?"

She laughed. "You don't know me at all."

Rough stared back at her, almost pleading. Then something sparkled in his eyes. He reached out and Tsunami jerked forwards as he tugged her scarf. She threw her hand up before her muzzle, and her nose bounced off her knuckles.

Rough spluttered and released her. She keeled back from him, trying to work out what had just happened. The skunk, still lying on his back, swiped snow from his face.

Tsunami smirked and smoothed out her scarf. "That's three."

"That weren't fair! I weren't prepared!"

"All right." Tsunami grabbed an armful of snow. "How about this?"

She dumped it over Rough's head.

He sat bolt upright, scattering it and wiping it from his eyes. Then he laughed.

"All right, Nami," he said. "I give. You win this one."

...

Tsunami left the bathroom after drying off her fur and scales, wrapped in her snuggly pyjamas and a blanket warmed from the heated rail. Crash, Decode, Rough and Omochao were all gathered in the hotel's communal lounge watching a colourful movie. No one else was up.

"Vector got you good, there, huh?" Crash grinned at her from the sofa.

Tsunami plopped down beside him, causing Decode to bounce slightly. "At least he didn't turn me into a snowman like Decode."

The bush baby looked up from his phone and smiled. "He caught me off-guard. I'll get him next year."

"I do not believe snow falls are annual," said Omochao. "In theory, you could-"

Decode lifted a hand. "It's okay, Omochao. I just don't think we'll be having another snow ball fight with the Chaotix any time soon. Today was unexpected."

"Ah, I see." The robot rubbed a hand on his metal head. "Please forgive me for not understanding."

"There's nothing to forgive." Decode returned to his computer, completely ignoring the movie playing out on the holoscreen opposite them. "You're fine, Omochao."

A small smile graced Tsunami's muzzle. She sat back in her seat, then, noticing one voice hadn't been joining in, leant forward again to look over Crash. The larger pangolin cocked an eyebrow at her then followed her gaze to the skunk beside him.

Rough lay against the arm of the sofa, sprawled over a small pile of scatter pillows. His ear twitched periodically as if swatting away a fly, but the only sounds coming from him were a few soft snores.

"He conked out shortly after we got down here," said Crash. "Must've worn himself out."

Tsunami let out a chuckle and settled back in her seat. "He's clearly run himself ragged."

"He's not a pet dog," said Decode.

Tsunami gave the bush baby a small smile, but he didn't look up from his game. She leant her head back against the sofa and closed her eyes for a moment.

"I had fun today," she said. "It was a good idea."

"I agree." Crash stretched and yawned. "But man am I ready for bed. The thought of fixing that engine tomorrow seems a lot less daunting now."

"Oh yeah." Tsunami stared across at the wall. "I'd almost forgotten about that."

"Dreading it?" Crash asked.

"No. You're right." She turned her head towards the window. "It does seem a lot less daunting. I mean, sure, the repairs will take a while. But pretty soon, the Raptor will be up to scratch again."

"Hopefully there'll be no scratch on it when we're done," joked Decode.

Tsunami barely heard the bush baby. Something beyond the window caught her eye, glinting in the lights from the hotel windows. Something yellow, poking out from the snow beneath an apple tree. A flower?

She leant forward on her knees and squinted at it, trying to make it out through the frosty window. Surely it was too early for flowers? Was it a daffodil? No, it wasn't possible. They weren't due to emerge for at least another two months.

She pushed herself up and moved over to the window, keeping the flower in her sights. Crash's voice trailed off and she became aware he'd been talking to her.

"Nami?" He leant forward on his knees. "You okay?"

Tsunami stared aghast at the flower beneath the tree. It definitely was a daffodil. What was it doing there?

"I'm fine." She looked over her shoulder at her friends. All three were staring at her, questioning. "It's just… there's a daffodil there."

"At this time of year?" Crash asked.

"Seems implausible," said Omochao. "A quick run-down states there are very few flowers that can grow at this present time. None of which are the daffodil."

"Then come and see for yourself. It's right-" She turned back towards the window, her words trailing off.

Where the daffodil had been sitting was now bare snow. Not so much as a blemish on it that suggested it had been plucked from the ground.

Crash stopped behind her and frowned at the window. "I don't see anything, Nami."

"It was right there," she said. "Unless I'm going mad?"

Decode let out a snort. "That ship sailed a long time ago."

Crash chuckled and steered his sister from the window. "I think you're just tired. Get some rest."

Tsunami gave a lone laugh. "Maybe. I'll make us some cocoa and call it a night."

"I'm on it!" Omochao rose into the air. "It's your vacation, ma'am. Let your trusty Omochao do the work."

...

The next morning, fresh snow had fallen, hiding all evidence from the previous day's fun and games. Rough's ship was still parked over the almond grove, hidden behind its trusty cloak. It wasn't a long trip back to Pulse City, but the ship felt a lot less tense.

Tsunami relaxed beside the skunk, gazing from the window at the blue sky. The odd fluffy cloud wrapped around them, wisping away into little tufts as the ship cut through it.

"It looks like it's going to be a nice day," she said.

"I'm glad," said Crash. "It'll make repairing our ship a lot easier. Omochao might even be able to give a helping hand."

"I shall do what I can, Master Crash," said Omochao.

Crash grinned at the robot, then turned to Decode. "What about you?"

"I still have to get the heating sorted," said the bush baby. "I dread to think how cold it's gonna be in there right now."

"I can lend a hand," said Rough. "Heatin's failed on my craft several times."

"That doesn't bode well," Tsunami told him. She turned to look over her shoulder at Decode. "Don't let him touch it."

"Wasn't gonna," he replied.

Rough snorted. "Suit yerself. I'll just help Spike with the engine, then."

"You'll hammer out the shell," said Crash. "Don't want the engine falling off during flight."

"It won't," said Rough. "But fine. If you need a hand, ya'll know where I am."

Tsunami gave him a sideways smile and chuckled. The skunk caught her staring and flashed his canines in a grin. But neither said anything.

Pretty soon, the ship was pulling in at the far end of Pulse City's expansive docks.

Crash let out a long whistle. "Busy today!"

"Must be last night's weather." Tsunami pushed herself from her seat. "No one wanted to fly in it."

"Aye." Crash folded his arms behind his head and followed her out onto the docks. "Given how quickly it hid our game, I dread to think what it was like."

"I slept right through it," said Decode.

"Likewise." Rough yawned and hopped out beside them.

The ship locked up tight and the group moved from it onto the busy street.

Omochao flitted before them, flying backwards. "I shall make haste in getting the kettle on. That way, the ship won't feel so cold!"

"Great idea, Omochao!" said Tsunami.

Omochao turned towards Rough. "How do you take your tea, sir?"

"Sweet'n'black," said the skunk.

"Roger!" The little chao-droid saluted then took off over the roofs of the ships.

"Just what we need," said Decode. "I approve."

Crash poked his tongue out in disgust. "I don't. Sweet and black? Seriously?"

"What?" Rough lifted his arms. "I don't want no cow juice in my tea, thank you very much."

"I've seen you drink a milk shake," said Decode.

"Milk shake ain't tea!"

Omochao whizzed back over the ships towards them, almost bumping into Crash's snout. Tsunami did a double-take at the android's sudden presence, blinking her blue eyes.

"Omochao?"

"There appears to be a set back in our plans, ma'am."

"Really?" Tsunami's heart thudded in her chest. "What kind of set back?"

"Well, those repairs you were listing?" Omochao shook his head. "They will no longer be necessary."

Tsunami frowned at him then slipped past him towards the Raptor. Its golden hull emerged from behind the neon green shell of the Chaotix' ship. Pristine. Glistening. Not a scratch in sight. She trailed her eyes over the hull towards the tail fins. There, set neatly in place as if it had always been there, was its second engine.

Crash stood beside her, matching her stunned and gobsmacked expression.

"What in the world?" Rough gasped. "It din't look like that yesterday."

Tsunami turned and dashed towards the door of the Chaotix' ship. She hammered on it with her fist frantically until it finally hissed open. Espio wiped a gloved hand across his bleary eyes.

"Nami?" He yawned, long, dragging out the silence. "What is it?"

"Did you guys do this?" She pointed towards her ship.

"Do what?"

"Fix our ship? The Raptor?"

He blinked, staring down at her. "Fix your ship? Why would we do that?"

Vector poked his head around the door to their bridge. "What's goin' on, Espio?"

"They think we fixed their ship," Espio replied.

Vector shook his head at Team Datastream. "We have boundaries, yanno. Don't go around fixin' up peoples' ships."

"Then if you didn't…" Tsunami turned from the neon green ship and stared back up at the Raptor. A soft, faint glow reflected off the tail fin, spreading out like the petals of a flower. "Then who did?"

The petals span and vanished as the sun ducked behind a cloud. Whoever had fixed it, Tsunami was eternally grateful.

"It sure were nice of 'em," said Rough.

"Definitely," said Crash.

Decode poked his head from the door. "The heating's working, too! This is amazing!"

She smiled and tucked her hands behind her back. "Whoever did this did a fantastic job. I only wish we could thank them personally."

Crash chuckled and placed an arm around his sister's shoulders. "Maybe we'll meet them one day?"

He steered his sister towards the ship, and she joined Decode and Rough on the bridge.

Omochao fluttered in, carrying a tea tray. "Tea is ready! Here you go, sir. Black, sweet, not a drop of milk in sight."

Rough took it, glancing up at Crash's crinkled muzzle. "What?"

"No milk?" Crash asked. "Really?"

"No."

Crash picked up the milk jug and inched it towards Rough. The skunk clutched his teacup protectively and turned it away from the pangolin.

"It's nice!" said Crash.

"I like it as I like it, Spike. Keep that cow juice away."

Tsunami laughed and shook her head, settling back in her seat. As she gazed out at Pulse City's busy docks, she sipped her tea, wondering who it was who'd fixed their ship, and feeling increasingly thankful. With the joyful voices behind her, the whole situation had shed its dark cloak, instead filling her ship and Pulse City with the feeling of peace.

...

**A/N - Merry Christmas, everyone!**

**The next chapter will be posted Saturday as usual. I just wanted to get this special out this week.**

**Decode and Crash's silliness in the 'snowball war' was inspired by the paintball episodes in _Community_ XD Kudos if anyone spotted that. It's such a great show.**

**As always, please R&R! =D**


	31. Sleepless Chapter 8

**A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D I'll try to get an update posted on time this Saturday, but it might be a little late with Christmas plans. Please bare with me!**

Chapter Eight

It was raining.

Heavy, large drops bouncing off the paving flags, and little mucky streams gurgling their way along the gutter as they made their way to the nearest drain. The sky was black and heavy with clouds, blocking out every single star and the pale face of the moon. Yet the city was still bright. Neon signs, billboards, and the light from the street lamps misting against the rain.

Silver stood beneath one of those lamps, eyes narrowed as he tried to spot the familiar spiky form of Metal Sonic. The hedgehog's quills lay flat against his skull, and plastered to the shoulders and back of his heavy trench coat. Water dripped from the hem into the puddle forming at his feet, and it dripped down his muzzle onto his collar. But he didn't care. He'd been following that robot for the past week. Now he'd come this far, why turn back? He clenched his teeth together, searching the doorways for the abhorrent robot. Where had it gone?

There! A flash of red beyond the cracked window opposite him. A rental shop that was still in business, but had received an unfortunate break-in earlier that evening. But Silver's priorities were elsewhere.

Metal Sonic peered from the cracked window, red pixel eyes narrowed as it scanned the street. Silver ducked closer to the lamp but the robot hadn't noticed him. Or if it had, its priorities were also elsewhere.

The sound of a small jet engine kicking into gear, then it leapt from the window, turning to glide down the busy main road like a cat after a mouse. Had it seen something? Silver had no time to hang around and spot it. He gave chase after the robot, while firing out an anonymous email to the Beatdrop City's police force. Just to clear the rental store from his mind.

The rain didn't bother Metal in the slightest. Just like the other robots that spent their time outdoors. Eggman was good at what he did. Rain or shine, his robots had to function, and that went equally for his ace. The rain sizzled as it struck the robot's hot jet stream, creating a steam trail behind it.

Silver was quick, but Metal Sonic was quicker. He almost lost track of the robot as it turned a sharp corner and vanished from sight. But the sound of its engine came from a narrow side-street leading into the residential district.

Apartment blocks graced the street, standing tall and proud, their rectangular windows lit up against the black skyline. Metal Sonic stood at the base of one of the apartment blocks, its roof a perfect round hood providing shelter from the rain. The robot's artificial eyes scanned the empty street. Not a person in sight.

"What are you up to, Metal?" Silver approached the robot, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets.

Metal Sonic turned its head, and its red eyes turned from wide circles into thin lines. It turned its body fully to face him, clawed fingers flexing at its sides.

"Are you behind all this?" Silver asked. "Those murders?"

Metal didn't so much as flinch.

"Looking for your next target?" Silver asked. "Well I'm not about to let you."

The robot's jet engine flared to life and it lurched towards him, claws spread.

Silver leapt to the side, letting the robot glide past him. Then it turned and doubled back. Too quickly. Silver sucked in air as its claws sliced his left ear, and when he opened his eyes again a few spots of crimson rained down among a sprinkling of small, grey quills.

He removed his fingers from his ear and reached into his inside pocket for his laser. He'd never enjoyed using firearms, but if he was going to stand any chance of detaining the robot then he had to disable it in some way.

"I know it's you," Silver barked. "The evidence all points to a robot!"

Metal Sonic glared at him, his only retort a few electronic beeps.

Silver laughed. "What? Couldn't Eggman program you with a language chip?"

The next noise the robot let out was an angered mechanical screech. It lowered its body, flexing its claws as it threatened to launch an attack. Silver wasn't going to give it that chance.

He fired, bright blue beams that streaked through the air like fireworks. Metal leapt aside, dodging each one, its red eyes trained on Silver. Then it lurched towards him again like a bullet. Silver had no time to dodge. The laser flew from his hand as the robot struck him in the torso, barreling him against a brick wall. All air shot from his lungs and he slipped down against the cold, wet stone.

Silence, save for Silver's coughing and the cold rain pelting the floor and bouncing off the robot's metallic hide. Metal stood over him, staring down, almost gloating. No… definitely gloating. Intimidating Silver like a wicked knight standing over a fallen peasant. One that knew for a fact all it had to do was reach down and snap its victim's neck.

All Silver could do was stare back up at him as he wiped blood from the side of his face. Powerless. Everything hurt from that attack, from his body to his already wounded pride.

He coughed a few times, spraying out bloody spittle onto his glove. But he never took his eyes off the robot.

"Go on then," he rasped. "Finish the job."

Metal remained silent. Staring. Not even twitching.

"You started it years ago, so why won't you finish it?!" Silver snapped.

A mechanical string of beeps and whines. Whether it meant anything, Silver hadn't a clue. He groped at the floor for his laser, but it lay several feet away in a puddle.

"Why are you doing this?" He rolled his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Why are you just messing with me?"

Metal beeped again, and lamplight glinted off its right claws. Then it jerked its head to the side. Searching. Silver followed its gaze, but saw nothing. Yet it lowered its claws anyway, narrowing its eyes into the streets.

Its blue metallic sheen lit up orange, and the most awful sound filled the air. Roaring flames mixed with a metallic screech, interspersed with the odd beep and clang. Metal Sonic leapt from amongst the blaze, landing on the other side of the road. Its hide was warped and bubbled in places, as if it were covered in boils where the flames had touched. Its eyes were livid, flicking between Silver and the lavender cat as she left the shadows. She didn't even look at Silver, keeping her eyes trained on the robot. Flames licked at her cuffs, reflecting off the rain as it came down like a curtain around her.

Metal Sonic looked between the flames and the two Mainframers, then turned and kicked its jet into gear. It sputtered a few times, causing the robot to stall and flop noisily to the ground. It fired them another glare before the engine finally fired into gear. Then it took off, bolting down the road into the cool rain.

Blaze watched him go, hugging her arms around herself and pulling her ears back as if she'd only just realised it was raining. She shook it off and stooped to offer her hand to Silver. But she refused to look him in the eye. Silver considered ignoring her offer. He still hurt. Sitting in the rain seemed like a much more pleasant experience than having to deal with any painful words from the cat.

"Come on, Silver," she pressed. "You took a nasty hit. You should get it looked at."

"I'm fine."

The pulsing in his ribs was not fine. Nor was the throbbing in his head. Concussion, or the violent reminder that his psychokinetic nerves had been severed.

"You're definitely not fine," said Blaze. "What are you even doing facing him alone? Do you want him to kill you?"

Silver looked away from her, and the entire street blurred and spun in a nauseating kaleidescope of rain, concrete and lights.

"It sure looked like it." Blaze's voice choked. "Look. I'm sorry. Just… please let me get you back home?"

Silver closed his eyes and nodded. Pulsing pain and nausea flooded him and he found himself sinking towards the floor.

"You might want to hail a cab." That's what he'd wanted to say. Instead, it came out as something much more unpleasant he found himself lying face down in.

...

As far as abandoned stores went, Rouge quite liked the little bakery. Despite smelling of dust, there was still the trace of flour and sugar in the air. There was no water running, and all food had been cleared out long ago (although it would have been moldy by now.) The place was damp on its topmost floor, but the ground floor was still pretty dry. Drafts were little to none, and the little nook she slept in, between the old oven and the wall, was pretty cozy.

The rain hammered the boarded-up window, creating something like white noise that had long since lulled the bat to sleep.

Something warm and wet flopped down beside her and looped itself around her waist, causing her eyes to snap wide open. Shadow lay opposite her, his eyes closed and a somewhat tranquil look on his face. Moisture clung to his fur and quills and it took her a moment to process why. It had been a long while since he'd come back from his watch on that video-game streamer's house. Perhaps he'd popped out again without her knowing, or merely left to find a restroom.

Regardless, it was unlike him to come back and huddle up beside her. It had only happened two times in the entire time she'd known him, and one of those times was because she'd developed a fever and he'd flown into a panic with no clue how to deal with it. The other time was a freezing winter's day in a drafty shack.

This was nothing like either of those times.

"Shadow?"

He grunted and pulled her into him, and she lifted a hand to stop her muzzle smooshing against his chest. Her heart raced as she stared at her fingers clasped over the white fur of his collar.

"Shadow!"

His body tensed and he locked wide, crimson eyes on hers. Then he glanced aside and withdrew his arm from her, rolling onto his back. A pink flush spread across his cheeks and he muttered an apology.

Sleepwalking, then? Well that was new.

Rouge sat up and rubbed her eyes as she stretched, yawning widely.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I've been woken up by much more unpleasant things. You know… like soldiers barging in?"

He scoffed and fired her a glare. "'Unpleasant'?"

A playful smirk spread across Rouge's lips, and he returned it, flashing a canine. But it was only brief. His arm flopped over his face and he let out a small sigh.

Rouge didn't drop her smirk. She watched him for a moment as she rubbed her ear. Sore to touch. She'd slept on it funny.

"So you gonna tell me what all that was about?" she crooned.

"I was asleep and you know it," he said.

She pouted. "Flattering."

Shadow let out a gasp as he sat bolt upright, letting his arm flop to his side. Rouge started, fluttering into the air. Her ears trained on the world outside. But there was no helicopter flying around. No footsteps storming the streets.

"He's dead," Shadow said quietly.

Rouge dropped back to the floor as realization dawned on her. She scooted towards him, but he barely seemed to notice. His eyes narrowed and he pulled his lip back from his canines.

"I don't get it!" he snapped. "I was only there a few hours ago! If I'd not come back, I could have caught that murderer!"

Rouge spread her hands then let them fall into her lap. "I don't know what to say, Shadow. I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "There's nothing you can say."

He didn't look up, instead pulling his knees into himself and folding his arms across them. She reached up and trailed her fingers through his quills. He lifted an arm to shrug her off, then sighed and changed his mind, relaxing against his knees.

"I can't believe it," he muttered. "I don't sleep as often as the rest of you do, and the one time I do… it's cost me. No… it's cost him. I could have saved his life."

Rouge closed her eyes and grimaced. There was a lot of pain in his voice she'd never heard before.

"Look at it this way," she said. "You found out who the killer's next target was before anyone else could even put the pieces together. If you can do that again, then you could let people know-"

"I'm not working with the police or any detectives," he spat. "They all work for GUN."

She sighed at that. But it made sense, given their circumstances. "Then… can't you warn the victim?"

"I'll figure something out," he said. "But I'd sooner catch the killer and destroy him."

He still hadn't shrugged her off. He huddled forward with his face buried in his arms, much more relaxed than she'd seen him recently. She let the silence wash over them as she continued to stroke his quills. Not as sharp as she'd once believed them to be. She scooted closer to him and leant against his side, looping her arm around his shoulders.

"If you want," she said, "I can help you? The two of us together would double our chances."

"No." He looked up at her, his crimson eyes soft and warm. "I want you safe."

"And you don't think we're safer together?" she said. "I mean, there's been times in the past I've thought you're practically bullet proof."

He laughed and leant his head back into his arms. "This is different. GUN are one thing. But we don't know if this killer is a Mainframer or something else entirely." He paused to let out a sigh as she wound her fingers back into his quills. "No… leave this one to me."

She stared at the closed door, mulling over his words. But part of her felt he was covering something up. Possibly the flaw with his teleporting, or that pink mist he'd been giving off. Oh well. If he wanted her to stay behind, then she could take the time to continue her own little investigation. Finding that fox soldier to find out if those flaws had something to do with his tranquilizers. She'd spotted the blue hedgehog on more than one occasion, but so far, the fox had eluded her.

So she nodded and leant her head against Shadow. "Okay. You take this one. I'll focus on keeping us both safe."

...

A large mug of tea appeared before Silver's bleary eyes. He blinked a few times, brining his bedroom into focus. A thin sheet had been draped over his body, and he propped himself up on one elbow as he rubbed his hand across his face.

"How are you feeling?" Blaze asked.

The lavender cat stood beside his bed, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Like I got hit by a truck," Silver croaked.

Blaze grunted. "That's one way to describe that robot."

Silver glanced up at her and reached for the steaming mug. Metal Sonic… it was all starting to come back to him.

"So you actually think it was him?" Blaze asked.

Silver propped himself back on a pillow that had been conveniently laid out behind his head. Blaze avoided his gaze, but there was something about her expression. Worried. Shaken.

He sipped his tea. "I don't know."

"He wasn't happy to see you."

"He's never happy to see me."

"That fight was brutal," she said. "I thought he was going to kill you."

"It wouldn't be the first time."

Blaze looked at him then, a small frown appearing on her lips. "You make it sound like he's tried to kill you before…"

"That's because he has." Silver set his mug down and adjusted himself against the pillow. "I had a feud with him once."

"A feud?"

Silver sighed and rubbed his muzzle. His head was still pounding. Was this really the time to bring this all up now?

"Silver, I'm worried," said Blaze. "If Metal Sonic is behind all this, then that means Eggman might be… and… I don't know… It doesn't make any sense."

"You're right. It doesn't." Silver shrugged as best he could, as the sheer movement made him realise how bruised his left shoulder was. "But does any murder make much sense?"

Blaze dropped her pocket computer onto his lap. A news site was open, and he tapped the surface of it to bring up its holo-screen. Another murder… on the very street Silver had passed out on. No one knew what time it was, but it was not suspected to be suicide.

A gamer known as DotMatrix had been found face down at his desk. He'd promised a stream of the new Assassin Strike game that night, but it hadn't gone ahead, prompting concern from his fans. Everything had been set up, as if he'd been preparing for it. But the computer was off, and everything, once again, was neatly organized in his famously chaotic apartment. Given the stream hadn't gone ahead, that put his time of death somewhere before ten pm.

"It's him, isn't it?" asked Blaze. "It's Metal Sonic."

Silver blinked at the holo-screen. Ten pm… he'd lost track of time that night, stalking the robot. But he'd seen the thing vanish. Wounded… melted… damaged by Blaze's flames. In no fit state to fight. It struggled to even get away from them. If it had wanted to get itself repaired, which Silver guessed it had been doing, then it would have needed to get back pretty promptly to commit that murder. Otherwise it would have risked being caught on camera, and that stream hadn't gone ahead. At all.

Silver shook his head slowly. Bitterly. His lead, or what he'd thought was a lead… had Metal Sonic actually been trying to commit this murder… or was it actually trying to solve it?

"No," he said. "It's not possible. The way it fled… it was off to lick its wounds." He flicked off the holo-screen and sank back against the pillow with a frustrated groan. "I thought I'd cracked it! It was all there!"

Blaze was trembling so much she had to hug her arms around herself. "So you no longer think it's him?"

"No."

"Then… then that means the killer was on that street somewhere when we were. We could have run straight into them." She paused and licked her lips. "We could have ended up the casualties."

Silver opened his eyes again, staring at his closed bedroom door. Had he seen anyone else on that street? It had been empty. The rain was too heavy for someone to hang around. So that meant whoever it was would have either stood out like a sore thumb, or had been lurking around inside that luxury apartment block.

His eye wandered to the lavender cat shifting uneasily beside him, and his heart sank. She'd been there. And she was top-notch at uncovering the clues before he did. She'd even found the VR machine underneath Snow's bed. No… no, it couldn't be her. She wouldn't have killed her own brother… would she? Anti-Eggman unlike her father. Unlike her… And Silver had passed out. Yet she'd attacked Metal Sonic. He shook his head harshly and reached for his tea again. Then paused, fingers twitching by the handle.

Blaze watched him and inclined her head on one side. "Is everything okay?"

He sighed and retracted his hand. "Blaze… what were you doing on that street?"

She blinked a few times, paling beneath her fur. "What are you getting at?"

"You were the only other person I saw on that street," he explained. "That unfortunately makes you a suspect."

"You think it's me?!" she squeaked.

"I don't want to, but you were there. I want to believe you're innocent, but as my job I have to-"

"I wouldn't kill my own brother!" she snapped. "I was following you! You were after Metal Sonic. You can't handle that robot! What powers do you have?!"

Silver brought his fist down hard onto the mattress, causing Blaze to leap back into the wall. It wasn't so much the noise than the livid expression on his face. His head began to pulse and he realised a faint blue light had surrounded his hands. He dropped it and sank back into the pillow, rubbing at his temples.

"You're right," he groaned. "I can't handle that robot. Not anymore. He made sure of that years ago."

Blaze lowered her hands to her sides and took a step closer to him. "He… he hurt you?"

"It did more than that. It almost killed me."

The bed sank beside him and he opened his eyes to find Blaze perched on the edge of it, staring at her hands.

She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head. "Why?"

"Because I was sent after it," he explained. "I used to work for GUN. Or one of its many anti-Eggman branches, anyway. I was supposed to keep an eye on Metal Sonic and report back anything that might pass off as suspicious. Well, one day, it followed me back to the headquarters. Of course, no one was meant to know where we were hiding. Every one of those branches are supposed to be top secret, either masquerading as official GUN branches or hidden underground. This one was underground. So… I had to fend Metal Sonic off. But… it soon turned nasty. He got in some lucky hits, and managed to break out of my psychokinesis. I took a hefty hit to the head. The next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital bed after some extreme reconstructive surgery."

A few tears ran down Blaze's cheeks. "So he cost you your powers?"

"My powers, my job… And he leaked the location of our GUN base. Hundreds died that weekend." Silver let out a small sigh. "The doctors couldn't repair my psychokinesis nerves. They run from my head to my hands. The damage was too extensive. I was told they may self-heal at some point, but the chances were low. But I endeavored to try. When I first got out I couldn't do anything with them. But then I started to be able to do little things. Each time I get a pounding headache. It's nothing like I could do before… but it's something."

Blaze cracked a small smile. "You're optimistic."

He let out a harsh laugh. "Oh believe me, I'm nothing like I used to be. He took that from me as well."

She reached out to take his hand then paused, changing her mind. Instead, she slipped from the bed and smoothed out her dress.

"I'll make us both some dinner," she said.

"I'm not hungry." Silver slipped back down under his sheet. "But thank you."

With a nod, Blaze turned to leave his room. Leaving him in a cloud of doubt and worry. Another suspect… and she was in his very apartment. He hoped desperately something would prove his suspicions wrong.

...

There was a lot of chaos coming from the living room. Grunts and mutterings, clattering, drawers and cupboards opening and closing.

Amy crept from her bedroom, rubbing her hand over her eyes. Her other clutched her mallet tightly. Whatever was going on, it hadn't woken Tangle. Whisper hadn't come back to her apartment that night, too busy scoping out her next big scoop. Amy's first thought was that it would be the wolf, but she was never that noisy. Her second thought was Infinite. He'd refused to go out with them that night, and when she'd arrived home he was gone. Just a note saying he'd gone for a walk, and to not wait up.

A faint light leaked in through the window from the neon green cafe sign across the street. A lanky shadow rushed back and forth between the kitchen and the television, and she caught the odd words from its frantic muttering. 'Over here.' 'No, over here.' 'Not that, this!'

Amy reached for the light then changed her mind. The sofa bed was unoccupied. Still tucked away into a sofa, and she caught the shadow's bushy tail as it vanished back into the kitchen again.

"Infinite?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Silence, interspersed with muttering.

She flicked the switch, flooding the room with light. It didn't phase the jackal in the slightest. He dropped down before the television, adding yet another tin can to a rather intricate structure of cans, jars and teacups. Stacked to resemble an uncanny tower that rose up higher than the television and its stand. As Amy drew closer to it, she found herself staring right at the label of a can of pea and ham soup.

She turned towards the jackal as he rushed back towards the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

He returned to add another teacup to the tower.

"Infinite?"

A jar of jam.

"Infinite!"

Tomato soup.

Amy considered giving him a smack with her hammer, but it was becoming more and more obvious that he was locked in some kind of trance. One that broke as he added a dinner plate to the very top of his structure. He crumpled into a heap beside the sofa. No more muttering. Looking every bit like he'd simply fallen asleep there.

Amy dropped down beside him, tucking her hammer away. She gave him a small shake and his blue eye cracked open, heavily ringed with black, staring at her blindly. He rolled his head to the side, nose twitching, as he tried to work out who it was.

He grunted, then said, "You smell different when you're awake."

She frowned at that and stood up, deciding to brush off his comment. She didn't want to know how he knew that.

"What's this?" She waved a hand at the tower.

Infinite pushed himself up into a crouch and frowned at it. "A mess."

"You were building it," she said. "Why?"

"Was I?" He raised an eyebrow at her, then shook his head as he realised he was missing his mask.

Suddenly the structure was forgotten as he groped around the floor until he found it tucked away beneath the coffee table, muttering a 'who put it there?' as he set it back on his face.

"I think you might have been sleepwalking," said Amy. "Can you remember what you were dreaming?"

He shrugged and stood up, placing his hands on his hips as he scrutinized the tower. "I feel like I've seen this somewhere before."

"It looks a bit like a tower block," said Amy. "There are loads around this city. Maybe you were just building something you've seen before? If you can't remember your dream, then…"

Infinite moved towards the block and began to dismantle it, carefully carrying things back to the kitchen. She couldn't see his face, but the fur along his spine was bristling slightly. Had this happened before? She didn't want to press him about it if it was distressing him.

"Do you need a hand?" she offered.

"I'm fine," he said flatly. "Get some sleep. You need it more than I do."

Amy wanted to tell him he was very wrong. The rings around his eyes were enough to tell anyone that. But instead she nodded, bidding him goodnight, before returning to her bedroom.

Deep down, she couldn't help feeling that something was very, very wrong. And he knew it.

...

**A/N - You know when you come across a writing prompt and you just have to use it...? 'You smell different when you're awake' sounded so much like something my AU version of Infinite would say XD**

**Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!**

**As always, please R&R! =D**


	32. Sleepless Chapter 9

**A/N - Sorry this is a day late. I've been super busy over Christmas and didn't take my laptop away with me.**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Nine

Amy yawned as she stepped into the living room, still slightly damp from a shower. It had not helped. After encountering Infinite's odd tower building, she'd been unable to get back to sleep, and had tossed and turned until her digital alarm clock had threatened her, minute by minute, to go off and disrupt any sleep she might actually manage to get.

As she reached the sofa, a coffee appeared in her bare hands. She caught Infinite's amber-tinted gaze as he flopped onto the sofa, leaving enough room for her to settle down beside him.

"No sign of Whisper?" she asked.

"Not so much as a whisker," he replied.

"Huh." Amy sipped her coffee and sank back against the sofa. "I was expecting her back. I hope she's okay."

"She'll be fine!" Tangle exploded into the living room, bounding towards the breakfast bar. "She'll just have come across something awesome and be writing about it! Or she turned into a hotel instead, or something."

Infinite lowered his head into his hands with a groan. "It is much too early for you."

The coffee machine whirred to life and Tangle turned to fire a beaming grin in their direction. "Hey! That serial killer struck again last night! Maybe that's what she's lookin' into?"

"Really?" Amy raised an eyebrow, and Infinite visibly paled.

"Yeah! Check it out!" said Tangle. "It's all over the news."

Sure enough, it was. 'Beatdrop's Heartbreaker Strikes Again.' Amy's coffee cooled as she read over the article. A video game streamer by the name of DotMatrix. Found dead at his computer desk. Locked apartment. Everything tidy, not so much as a fingerprint left anywhere except where his folded hands were touching. They didn't even wait to run an autopsy. It was done in a matter of hours, and the results were now in. Murdered, just like the rest of the fake suicides.

"It seems a bit further out than the previous ones," Tangle explained. "One of them posh apartments on the edge of the city."

"Posh apartments?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, you know them! Tall things with a big round roof that's meant to provide shelter from the rain. But it's useless, given how tall the things are. You get soaked anyway."

Hot coffee sloshed over Infinite's cup onto his lap, causing Amy to yelp with surprise.

Tangle turned back towards them and laughed. "Whoa! What's your problem, big guy? Falling asleep on us?"

"I just lost my grip, okay!" he snapped.

He set the mug down on the table and rose to head towards the bathroom. Amy put hers down beside his and followed after him, leaving Tangle to watch after them with an amused air.

Before he could lock himself in the bathroom, Amy squeezed in after him and pressed her back up against the door. The jackal merely stood there, staring at his reflection in the glass of the shower door.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"That's what I was building, wasn't it?" He slumped back against the wall and rubbed his muzzle beneath his mask. "That tower block…"

Amy thought back and nodded. "Now that you mention it…"

Her voice wavered, and he noticed, leaning his head back against the tiles. "It's me, isn't it? I'm 'The Heartbreaker'."

"We don't know that."

"I went out last night for peace and quiet," Infinite went on. "I don't even remember coming back! How else do you explain all this?"

Amy closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't know, but there must be a reason. Maybe whatever is making you tired has something to do with it?"

He lowered his head and his shoulders shook. "I'm finally out of that wretched place. I'm finally free… I don't want them to lock me up again…"

She moved from the door and placed her hand on his arm. "They won't. I won't let them."

He scoffed, but said nothing, letting his hands rest on her sides. Pulling her into him slightly as if he wasn't entirely sure he wanted the contact.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, okay?" she said.

He nodded, his nose brushing her quills. "Thank you." A small pause passed between them as he trailed a thumb along the fabric of her dress. "I think I need to shower this coffee off me."

"Then I'll leave you to it." She cracked a smile and pushed herself back from him, and he let his hands fall to his sides. "Try not to worry too much. Okay?"

He glanced away from her, lips pulled down in a frown. Of course it was easier said than done. But what else could she do?

As she turned from the room, his voice froze her. "Do you think it's me, Amy?"

She glanced back at him, her smile melting away. He couldn't even meet her eye.

"I honestly don't know," she said.

He closed his eye and sank back against the wall. Not what he'd wanted to hear.

"But I want to believe it's not," she said. "I think… if it is… you're being controlled in some way."

He idly scratched his arm, staring at the opposite wall. "Controlled, huh?"

"It makes sense," she said. "You were definitely not yourself last night. Not until I managed to 'wake' you. And you did tell me that if someone were to get hold of a piece of your Phantom Ruby they could abuse your powers. Could it be done in this way?"

"I've no idea. The previous Phantom Ruby wasn't flesh and blood like I am."

"So we don't know enough about it, do we?" Amy shrugged. "But from what you told me, and how tired you are, it sounds like that's what could be happening. I don't want to believe you're the killer, Infinite, but if someone is controlling you then we need to find out who it is and stop them."

He turned to look at her, his lone eye chilling right through her. But she knew the anger wasn't aimed at her. Instead, at the fictitious puppet master tugging his strings. She hugged her arms around herself, silently imploring him not to go on another rampage. The anger melted away as he pushed himself from the wall and reached for the shower door.

"I'll leave you to it," she said, slipping out of the bathroom. "But please… don't do anything foolish?"

He gave her a sideways glance, reading her. Then he said, softly, "Of course I won't."

...

The crime scene for DotMatrix was an array of baffling potential clues.

Silver stood in the middle of his kitchen, staring at the worktops as his mind worked like a computer to process the scene. All the contents of the victim's kitchen cupboards had been removed and stacked along the worktops. Small towers almost reminiscent of a city. And around Silver on the kitchen floor, some items lay scattered. So whatever the killer had been doing, it hadn't lasted and had toppled over at some point in the night. One thing was for certain, though. The killer was no longer trying to mask his murders as mere suicides. Sure, the killing method hadn't changed. Locked room. Crushed heart. Absolutely no trace on the victim's body. The entire apartment scrubbed to within an inch of its life to remove any evidence and leave the place in a pristine, almost surgically clean, condition.

But now, with the murders being uncovered and released to the public, the killer had begun to change his tactics. If Silver had encountered such a scene in his first investigation, he'd have put it down to one of two things. A deliberate kill, or insanity. He was beginning to question both, and not at all from the victim.

Blaze coughed a few times as she joined him in the kitchen, wiping her hands on her dress. "The bathroom is also spotless."

"Any clues?" Silver asked.

She shook her head slowly. "No. But it's been cleaned so much it's like walking into a wall of bleach fumes."

Silver looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. Then turned back to the stack of groceries.

"What do you make of this?" he asked.

She crept over to them, careful not to knock a single one out of place. A thoughtful noise left her throat and she inclined her head on one side.

"If I were to guess," she said, "it looks a lot like the northern part of the Beatdrop Capital. This tall one here could be the entertainment tower, only without the giant pixel character sticking out of the side of it. And these structures opposite would be the department store."

Silver's blood turned cold as his previous worries flared back up. "How did you leap to that conclusion?"

"It's obvious. The 'department store' is even laid out like a donut, just like the real one. Even if this crude representation has been built mainly out of baked bean cans."

Once again, Blaze had worked out an obscure clue. As Silver eyed the structure, it did begin to look a lot more like a city. The varying heights of the towers, the spaces left open around flat packets meant to resemble parks.

Silver stepped over a fallen can of soup to reach the other side of the kitchen. The other structure placed on the worktop. If Blaze was right and she was standing by a representation of the northern part of the city, then this one opposite should be south. Sure enough, Silver found himself examining a crude re-imagining of Beatdrop's southern district. Not all of it, however. It would have been a feat to fit it all on a narrow worktop. Just like the north on the other side of the kitchen, the grocery-model had a residential area. But it was also quieter. Quaint. Parks and a little piece of woodland, along with a river carving its way through it before it merged into the suburbs. The killer had even made that river, using a trail of fusilli pasta.

"I don't know how yet," said Blaze. "But I'm starting to think he's left us a bit of a map to point to his next target."

"I don't know how this is going to accomplish it," said Silver. "He can't even fit the entire districts onto this worktop."

"Maybe that's the point?"

"Well… north side. South side. And I'm going to guess that one by the sink is the west?"

A quick search of Blaze confirmed that yes, it was indeed the west. All that was missing from the killer's little model was the east. They currently occupied that, so it had likely been deliberately omitted.

Silver left the kitchen, stepping over every item left on the floor, to make his way back to the bedroom. DotMatrix was no longer at his desk, but it had been left in the exact state it had been found in. Neatly organized. Dusted and polished. The only traces of DNA from Renga himself. Black and purple hairs, that Silver had collected on the off-chance they might contain some trace of the killer.

"Silver?" Blaze called from the hallway.

He turned back towards the door, spotting the cat crouching as she stared into the kitchen.

"Did you move anything?" she asked.

"Of course not."

"Not even on the floor? You didn't catch it with your boot?"

He shook his head as he joined her. "Why do you ask?"

"I think the items on the floor might be a clue."

"Really?" He stood beside her and gazed at the array of items strewn across the laminate floor. "I thought they'd just fallen off the tower blocks he'd been making."

"No." Blaze shook her head and pointed. "Look. They're laid out like the hands of a clock."

Silver wanted to ask her what on earth made her think that. But he decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. If Blaze was right, she'd move further up his suspects list. And he deeply didn't want that. He needed her to be wrong.

But the longer he looked at it, the more it began to look like a clock. The wide, round pie tin in the middle of the kitchen. The various cans lay out around it. Not end to end, but definitely in two straight lines. As if they'd been meticulously put there just for that purpose. One of them longer than the other. Both of them pointing towards two separate districts. North, and west.

Silver felt his heart sink.

"I can see what you mean," he said. "It's like he's trying to point us to which district he's going to strike next."

"My guess is on the west one," said Blaze. "And the hands? Eight o clock."

"Where have you got 'eight' from?"

"The big hand is pointing to the north. That has to be twelve, right?"

"It would make more sense if twelve was the one directly opposite this door."

Blaze shook her head. "On a clock, if you hold it right to see the time, twelve is at the top. The northern point of the clock."

Silver sighed deeply and took a step back from the kitchen. "Well, I think I shall also note down quarter-past-eleven, too, just to be on the safe side."

He removed his phone from his pocket and took some photos of the kitchen, feeling his heart sink even more with each one.

It couldn't be Blaze. It needed to not be Blaze.

"The question is," he said, "what is the target? It could be north or west. Big hand, or small hand."

Blaze stood back up again and smoothed out her dress. "Perhaps there's another clue in his bedroom? That's where they found him, and so far every case has had a clue in the room the body was located in."

Silver tucked his phone away and followed her. Another thing nagging at his mind was how the killer was getting into these homes in the first place. Each case was a locked room. That meant they were either appearing out of thin air, or finding another way in and out. Or… they had some sneaky way of locking the doors.

Some form of energy to manipulate the lock. Psychokinesis… or heat from fire. No… the latter would leave traces. He'd seen for himself the state Metal Sonic had been reduced to after getting caught in Blaze's attack.

Blaze moved around the bedroom while Silver watched, musing over the locked doors. A hair pin. A piece of string used to flick the lock from the other side of the door. Some kind of electrical interference.

"Something that could point to the west or north districts," said Blaze.

She had her back to him, eyeing the neatly organized shelves. Various games that DotMatrix was famous for playing. She lifted one of them down.

"This is a life simulation," she said. "He mainly played action games."

Silver took a few steps towards her, keeping his eye on the game she'd found. She flipped it over to examine the back.

"Set in a school," she said. "Teaching Academy. 'A simulation where you are the teacher. Handle your rambunctious class of students throughout their various years, from kindergarten all the way to their masters degree. Their grades are your score. Aim to be the best teacher the world has ever seen.' It sounds quite fun, actually."

Silver was too busy with his computer, searching through the library of every game DotMatrix (or, to use his older alias, RengaCharming) had ever played. No such simulation was listed.

"Is there anything inside the case?" he asked.

Blaze opened it then shook her head. He wasn't sure if the disappointment on her face was faked. He hoped it wasn't.

"There is a school in the west district," he said. "A big one. It handles students of kidergarten age up to college. Not university, but… it's the only school like it."

"There isn't one in the north of the Beatdrop Capital either," said Blaze. "I think we might have found our next target."

"I think you might be right." Silver tucked his computer back into his trench coat pocket. "The question is, 'who'?"

"And 'when'," said Blaze. "All we have right now is a time."

Silver nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on the cat. "And I hope you don't take offense to this, Blaze. But I am going to request you never leave my sight."

She blinked a few times, lowering the game case to her side. "Why?"

He grimaced and hunched his shoulders. "Because… you seem to have a knack for uncovering these clues much faster than I do."

"You still think it's me?" she gasped.

"I don't want to think it's you," he said. "And if you are innocent, you will have no problem with proving that to me."

The cat's eyes turned livid, but she let her arms relax and folded her hands before her, still clutching the simulation game.

"Okay," she said. "If it will prove to you my innocence, then fine. I'll stay with you. I won't leave your sight."

"Good." Silver nodded and turned from the room. "I have a spare room you can use."

"I thought you didn't want me to leave your sight?"

He faltered in the doorway and a chill ran down his spine. He could feel her staring at his back, her eyes boring into him like a pair of heat lasers.

"You're right," he said. "I guess we'll have to think of something."

Of course, that meant he'd never be able to sleep. He was rapidly beginning to question how efficient this would be.

"We can start by hanging around the school," he said. "Keep a watch on the place throughout the day. Or maybe issue a warning to increase security?"

"That sounds like a very good idea," said Blaze. "But can we keep tabs on everyone? This killer is clearly professional."

He shrugged at that and pushed himself from the room. "I guess we head back and start thinking. Bring the game with you. There may be more to it than just a title and a premise. I want to search that disk perchance there is any hidden clue on it that might point us to the exact date and time."

"And once you've proved my innocence?" Blaze's words froze him.

He shuffled with unease and shrugged. "Then I'll owe you an extensive apology."

...

It was dark, but the main road winding through the Beatdrop Capital was still busy. Although not moving. Groups of Mainframers stood watching the animated billboards as Eggman's mustached face peered out at them.

'I know everyone in the Beatdrop Capital is frantic,' he said, 'but I can assure you security measures are being put in place to catch this criminal. Drones will be increased in number, Striders and Drifters alike. I shall also increase GUN patrol in the areas. Mark my word, we will stop this Heartbreaker, and put a preemptive stop to any imitation crimes throughout the entirety of Mainframe.'

Shadow stood in a damp doorway near the mouth of an alley, crimson eyes narrowed at the doctor. Rouge shuffled beside him, checking over her belt pouch.

"He's got them all wrapped around his finger," she said.

Shadow grunted. "You would know. You used to work for him."

'I've already begun to increase security,' Eggman went on. 'Nothing suspicious has appeared on my cameras yet, but when it does, Mainframe will be the first to know. The more there are searching for this killer, the faster he'll be apprehended.'

"Or 'she'," added Rouge.

Whatever else Eggman had to say was drowned out by the siren of a Strider Drone. The crowds parted on instinct, letting the lanky robot strut its way down the street. Its blue bulb of an eye scanned left and right, lighting up the alley like a streak of lightning. Shadow and Rouge ducked back into the doorway, narrowly avoiding its probing gaze.

Then it was gone, continuing its patrol along the busy road. Its siren fading away into the night.

'…likely to be someone just looking for attention,' said Eggman. 'But we needed the world to know that we won't stand for it. All eyes on the lookout for anything strange! And if you see anything, report it to your nearest GUN soldier or Egg Pawn.'

Eggman swiftly wrapped up his recording and the screen flickered back to an advert sporting a beaming image of Honey the Cat. The crowds parted, drifting in all directions, and the drone of voices filled the air. Mostly relaying Eggman's emergency bulletin.

"So he's increased security?" said Rouge. "I guess I'd better scope out all them hidden cameras?"

"You do that." Shadow crept out from their hiding place, searching the alley for any sign of Eggman's drones. "I'll keep an eye open myself."

"So what's the plan, handsome?" Rouge hopped from the step to land behind him. "Are you still off on another crime scene investigation? Or has Eggman put you off?"

"He could never put me off."

Rouge pouted and leant back against the wall, but it vanished when Shadow narrowed his eye at her.

"He's increasing security, Shadow. If you keep wandering these streets alone, you might-"

"This is more important. I'll take the risk. Besides, I can always Chaos Control away."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. But seriously, if anybody sees you-"

"No one will see me."

"It's only been a day since that cat's body was found!"

"Exactly." Shadow tugged the cuff of his glove to straighten it. "No one will be there."

"Shadow, please. Give the detectives time to put the clues together before you go snooping around a fresh crime scene. Something might come up that can help you help them!"

"It would take too long. They've no time, no date, just some hazy location and about a thousand potential targets!"

Rouge shook her head slowly. "These things take time. This killer is leaving convoluted clues. They'll get there."

"They didn't the last time. I'm the one who uncovered the target." He jabbed a thumb into his chest. "You pointed out yourself that I managed to find the killer's next target before that bumbling detective. If I can find the next one, I can stop this murderer!"

"Fine," said Rouge. "Go and snoop. Just don't get caught."

"I won't get caught. Stop worrying."

"If you want me to stop worrying then take me with you," she said. "I can keep a lookout while you…" She waved a hand at him. "Do whatever it is you plan to do."

"No. It's too dangerous."

"I used to be a GUN soldier. I can handle myself."

He stared at her for a moment, his expression softening. Then he grimaced and shook his head. "I'll meet you where we agreed."

"So I'm not coming?" Rouge had barely got the words out when Shadow vanished in a flurry of computer code. She tutted and folded her arms in a huff. "Apparently not."

Shadow manifested on the opposite side of the road to the upscale apartment block. Its round disk of a roof spread out around it like a parasol, still dripping from the day's rainfall. Trails of binary drifted from him, vanishing into the air like steam. Usually normal, but something about it seemed off somehow. Something blue reflected off a large puddle pooling at the edge of the road, dragging his mind from that computer code. He looked up to see the blue eye of a Strider Drone probing the street. He ducked back into the adjoining street, pressing his back flat against the wall.

No siren. Not needed if the street isn't crowded. Had it seen him?

The Strider lingered, scanning the spot Shadow had previously occupied. It crouched on its long legs, turning its slender neck to peer down the street. Shadow's heart raced as he watched it, the intensity of the bulb changing with its focus.

Whether or not it had seen him, it was definitely looking for something.

It straightened, and red and green lights flickered on the sides of its head. Another blue bulb lit up on Shadow's right and he spotted the head of a second drone rising above the lower buildings. Great, they were communicating.

Shadow grimaced and tapped into the Chaos Network, riding it over to the other side of the road. The apartment block. The correct floor. When he exited it, he was sprawled on all-fours on a laminated floor cluttered with soup cans.

He pushed himself up, absently wiping his hands on his chest. He could still see the Strider Drones outside, probing the street he'd been lurking in. Two of them, their tiny communication lights flickering as they silently exchanged information.

Yes. One of them had clearly seen him.

He screwed his eyes shut momentarily and turned to take in the kitchen. A convoluted clue. He'd read all about that one. It gave them a location, and a potential time. But that was it.

He left the kitchen and made his way towards the bedrooms. Two of them. Both shut. He tested one and found himself in a tidy room. A small laptop lay folded beside a bed lined with black bedding. It wasn't Renga's room at all. He remembered he'd had a room mate. A binturong with long, black fur. Reginald, if Shadow recalled right. Or 'Reg' for short. He remembered some of their duet games. 'Renga and Reg Play…'

Shadow shook his head sharply and turned from the room, but froze when he noticed something sparkling on the chrome of the handle and lock. A little old fashioned, but upscale places often hearkened back to simpler times. The sparkle was almost flower-shaped, cast by some yellow light from the crack in the blinds. It drew his eye right to the thumb lock. Why hadn't this been looked into before? Each crime had been in a locked room. That meant whoever it was could either come and go without having to physically lock the door, or they had a means to do so without touching it.

Shadow shoved the door closed with his foot and frowned at the lock as if it had just challenged him to a fight. How might one lock it without touching it? It would take a lot of planning and forethought to use a tool. One that could go undetected. Had anyone even examined the locks for signs that they might have been picked?

But indoor locks didn't need to be picked with a wire. They were either card panels, or thumb locks. With the latter, all you had to do was grab the lock and twist it, then voila! It was locked. The other side would need a screw driver to open, and that would leave traces. Scratches. Ones that could be dated.

He lifted his hand towards the door handle, and a strange red glow surrounded it. The lock jerked to the right, locking him in the room.

His heart leapt and the haze vanished in an instant. He stared at his hand for a moment, then the lock. Then something snapped into place.

"Psychokinesis," he said. "Whoever is doing this doesn't need to physically touch anything!"

He reached for the lock to try it again, but that haze failed to appear. So he grabbed it, turning it back to the left.

His ears twitched as he picked up a whispering voice. Urgent, yet too quiet to make out.

Then footsteps.

"Yeah, it's weird coming back here." The voice was faint but it was followed by the sound of a door opening. "But I have to. I won't be a moment, I'll grab my-"

The bedroom door opened, and Shadow found himself staring into the red eyes of a long-haired binturong. Matching looks of surprise and terror crossed both their faces, and Shadow stumbled back from the larger male.

A fair-haired wallaby stood behind him and before Shadow could stutter any explanation, she let out a shrill scream.

In a panic, Shadow tried to reach out to the Chaos Network. But it wouldn't hold. Instead, pink mist surrounded his body and whisked him from the room, throwing him onto his back in the thorny bushes of Beatdrop Park.

'Shadow?'

A whisper. His fur bristled as a chill ran down his spine and he twisted to spot whoever it belonged to. But he was alone. The park was empty. A breeze washed over him, broken by the rustling leaves and thorny branches of the bramble.

Great. Now he was jumping at the wind? It wasn't as if anyone could have followed him if even he didn't know where he was going!

He let out a groan and placed his hands over his face. Spotted. By Strider Drones, and now by Renga's room-mate. How could he have been so careless? He could see it now. Very soon, all of Mainframe would think he was the 'Heartbreaker'. The Beatdrop Capital's serial killer. And if people hadn't already been looking for him before, they certainly would now.

And as for Rouge…

Shadow felt his heart shatter. Everyone would think she was a conspirator. Aiding the killer with her famous stealth skills. He spread his fingers to peer up at the sky. Stars. The clear constellation of the Hope Flower peering down at him. His eyes stung with tears and he screwed them shut as that night in that very park came back to him.

No. He wasn't going to let this happen. Rouge had helped him, they'd looked out for each other for over a year. Now he'd messed up, and he was going to protect her with every fiber of his being, even if it killed him.

...

What luck.

Rouge chuckled to herself as she crouched on the roof of a casino. A small robot dog barked and yapped, bouncing on its toes as it eagerly awaited its handler. The twin-tailed fox she'd learned went by 'Tails' followed after it, checking over his phone. If she'd not heard the dog, she wouldn't even had known the soldier had been in the casino.

She spread her wings and glided over to the opposite roof. The fox's ears didn't so much as twitch. He pocketed his computer and followed after the dog, silently. Almost as if the robot wasn't even there.

Rouge frowned at that. She'd seen other pet owners, and they would chatter away to their animals (or robots). But Tails didn't utter a word.

She followed him along the roof as he rounded a bend in the road. Then he did something she hoped he wouldn't. He hailed a cab.

Rouge groaned under her breath and fluttered into the air. Now she had to take the risk of following a vehicle?

The small, black hover-car glided along the road away from her, sticking to the busy main streets. Rouge remained above it, keeping her eyes and ears trained on the car. The place was riddled with Strider Drones and Drifters. Rouge swerved to avoid them, trying to remain in their blind spots. It wasn't easy. One particular Drifter pushed her into an alley and she had to follow the car by sound. When she came out of the other side, the small plane-like drone was still lurking, looking for her, and there was no sign of the cab.

She was about to give up when she spotted it turning into the road beside her, almost as if it were doubling back the way it had come. She twirled to follow after it and almost dropped from the sky with surprise when it pulled into the entrance to an old warehouse.

Tails climbed out, followed by his dog, and the cab drove off. The soldier glanced left and right, the robot copying him. Its huge, bulb-like eyes lit up the street until its handler shushed it. The lights blinked out and he waited a moment before opening the shutter on the warehouse.

Rouge tapped her lip as she searched over the building. She couldn't very well follow him. She needed to get the sneak on him. A vent or a window she could use… When she came up dry and the shutter started to rattle back into place, she zipped from the sky and landed before it, rolling into the warehouse.

The dog let out a surprised yelp, but Tails didn't so much as flinch. He stepped back from her, his cold eyes trailing over her body as he tried to assess her threat level.

The robot dog growled, cutting between her and its handler.

"All right," she said, pushing herself up and keeping her hands raised. "I found you. Now I've got a question for you, fox."

She sucked in a breath as the fox retrieved a gun from somewhere behind him. Then she noticed a weapons rack. She'd been too preoccupied keeping the fox and robot in her sights she'd failed to notice that. He aimed the rifle at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Wait!" she gasped. "I'm not here to fight you. I just have some questions!"

"You're allied with Shadow," he said. "I am to apprehend you both."

He fired, and Rouge leapt aside, leaving the dart to rattle off the stone wall. Another dart skimmed her ear as she ducked with speed that surprised even her. If she was going to get him to co-operate, she seriously needed the upper hand.

She leapt at him, aiming a crescent kick. A flash of light erupted from the gun's handle, forming a shield around his hands. Her foot bounced off it, sending a shockwave of pain up her ankle. She grunted and keeled back from him, corkscrewing to avoid another dart that skimmed her muzzle with its feathers.

"Wait! Please!" She flipped herself higher into the air, drawing the fox's aim with her. "It's your tranquilizer. It's done something strange to Shadow! His powers are malfunctioning!"

He lowered his weapon then, inclining his head on one side. "Malfunctioning?"

Still no emotion on his face. No sympathy. No worry. No fear. If anything, she'd simply intrigued his inner scientist.

"Explain," he said.

Rouge looked between him and his weapon. "I will if you'll stop shooting at me."

He stood his rifle on the ground beside him, leaning on it like a walking cane. "You have five minutes."

A loud ticking sound filled the room, and Rouge realized with some alarm that it was coming from the dog. It sat watching her, its tongue lolling from its mouth, clearly impressed with its own little joke.

"Okay." Rouge landed and smoothed out her jumpsuit. "Shortly after you hit him with your tranquilizer, he's had this weird pink mist appear around him. I don't know if that's what's directly interfering with him, but it throws off his Chaos Control, making his teleporting completely unpredictable."

"Is it still ongoing?"

"I believe so. It's very intermittent."

"Then it's not my darts."

Rouge's mouth flapped open and closed as she stared at the fox's cold, emotionless face. "He has… regenerative properties. Maybe that's interfering with whatever you coated them with?"

"The drug I use to hamper someone's abilities affects chemicals on the brain and does no harm whatsoever. Therefore his regeneration wouldn't counter it. And the affects would only be temporary." Tails paused and shrugged. "Besides. I used no such means to apprehend Shadow. I used a tranquilizer. Not a detaining drug."

"Then if you knew that all along, why not tell me outright it had nothing to do with this?"

"Curiosity," said Tails. "A hunter has to understand his prey."

Rouge let out a nervous laugh and made her way towards the shutter. Tails lifted his weapon again, but Rouge wagged a finger.

"You gave me five minutes," she said. "I still have three and a half left."

"I gave you five to explain yourself."

"Really?" Rouge feigned surprise by covering her mouth. "I thought it was five for you to stop shooting at me. I guess we've reached a misunderstanding?"

Tails lifted the sight to his eye and aimed, and a small red dot appeared on her left shoulder.

"Oh dear." She let out a small sigh. "Surely a gentleman wouldn't-"

The robot dog let out a series of rapid-fire barks. Its bulb-like eyes lit up, flooding the warehouse. Tails lowered his gun to attend to his dog, dropping to his knees.

Rouge took that opportunity to grab the shutter's base and pull. A long groan escaped her throat as she heaved it with her hands. But it wouldn't budge.

Then she became aware of a voice. One that didn't belong to the fox. She turned her head to look over her shoulder. He was still crouching beside the dog, who's eyes projected a holographic display. A news broadcasting. One that was filled with Shadow's face.

"No," she gasped.

Tails looked up at her, and she found herself becoming increasingly scared by how impossible he was to read.

"It looks like your friend has been listed as the killer," he said.

"It's not him," said Rouge. "He was investigating!"

Tails stood up straight, still clutching his gun, this time at his side. "I believe you."

Rouge's jaw dropped. "You do?"

"I don't believe the criminal returns to the scene of the crime."

He adjusted his weapon to his shoulder, and that red dot appeared again. Rouge's blood turned cold and she slowly rose to her feet, lifting her hands. Confined to this small place, with no visible windows to escape through… she'd soon tire of dodging his attacks.

"However," he said slowly, "I do believe the pair of you would be safer with me than mobbed by Eggman's troops. Don't you?"

He fired.

...

**Please R&R! =D**


	33. Sleepless Chapter 10

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D **

Chapter Ten

Rough's ship was parked where he'd left it. Situated between a green caterpillar-shaped ship and an empty space that had previously occupied a massive cargo carrier. A rather rudely parked one that had made getting on and off his own ship nigh impossible.

The stench of oil and sweat stung his nose as he climbed on board. Gadget huddled against the wall where his computer was wired up, muttering to himself as he read over something on his holoscreen that Rough couldn't see. He half expected Gadget to be surrounded by a stink cloud, and he wafted his nose as he strode past the wolf.

"Had a shower lately?" Rough scoffed as he flopped into his chair.

"Rather hypocritical coming from a skunk, wouldn't you say?" said Gadget. "I'll shower once we leave this wretched pirate-infested dump of a sky-city."

"There's a shower right across the docks." Rough pointed a finger towards it, and glanced back to make sure Gadget was looking. He wasn't.

"There are too many pirates. They'd snap up my bounty like candy."

"Just tug your coat over your head. No-one's gonna care!"

Gadget made a spitting noise and leered at the skunk. "Oh they'll care. Besides… You lot are like fleas on a rock, I can't stand it. When are we leaving?"

"In one hour," said Rough.

"You said that two days ago."

"Well it took me a few days to track down someone who's sellin' those cloaking technology plans you want for cheap," Rough explained. "And the last guy stiffed me."

"That's a pirate for you," said Gadget. "Now define 'cheap'?"

"'Not expensive'," Rough joked. "A lot of pirates here crank the price right up. You don't find too many who do things fair."

"'Fair' has 'space pirate' written all over it," Gadget spat.

"Exactly. Need to tease out the ones that are doin' you dirty."

"And what guarantee do I have that it will work?"

"It works on my ship." Rough caught the unimpressed look on Gadget's face and growled. "Look, doc. I know what I'm doin'. I've been doin' this since I were a pre-teen. You want the schematics or not?"

"If it'll work, I'll take it." Gadget returned to his computer. "At least then we can get away from this dump."

"Yeah, and you can stop stinkin' up my bridge." Rough turned back to the controls, half-tempted to drive straight into the washroom and throw the wolf into the nearest sink. "The seller is gonna deliver them here. If you don't want them to see you, I suggest you hide."

Gadget didn't budge, but Rough could feel his eyes on him. Staring. Rough shrugged and tucked his hands behind his head, kicking his feet up on the control deck.

Space pirates moved back and forth across the docks, and the rumble of nearby engines signaled ships leaving, or docking. It had been a long day, and the skunk felt himself drifting off to sleep. But he snapped right out of it as a high pitched whistle reached his ears, followed by a fist thudding at the ship's door.

Rough looked back over his shoulder, mirrored by Gadget still huddled in his corner. It hadn't been an hour yet, surely? The space pirate flipped himself from his seat and went to investigate. As the door hissed open, a tall leopard greeted him with a playful grin. Siesta. So she was early? And behind her stood a sly-looking purple weasel-wolf in a fedora.

"Nack?" Rough scoffed. "What are you doin' here?"

"Oh, I helped score the schematics," said the weasel. "Although I had no idea they were for you."

"Where are the rest of your hooligans?"

Nack grinned, choosing to remain silent.

The leopard girl's smile fell and she frowned down at the skunk. "Is this about to get ugly? Because I don't get involved in others' affairs."

"Nah, I want my share of the cut, sugar." Nack folded his arms and his grin turned sinister. "I'll wail on this idiot later."

Rough chose to ignore the hybrid, instead glaring up at Siesta. If only because she'd chosen to work with one of his biggest rivals.

"How much?" he asked her.

"Two thousand credits, as agreed," she replied.

Rough's fur bristled along his spine, but if it was going to get him his brother back, then it was worth every credit. So he tapped it into his computer and a beep came from the leopard's dress. Her visor snapped into place, typical of those who worked in her chosen trade, and she gave him a satisfied smile.

"Pleasure doing business with you." She held out the computer chip.

"Hang on. We agreed paper," he said.

She shrugged. "I couldn't get paper."

"Well I've been screwed over once already," he growled. "You ain't goin' nowhere until I check this is legit."

Nack tugged a laser from his belt, but Siesta raised a hand, not looking back at him. "Leave it, Nack. Let him check it if he wants."

Rough looked between the pair then popped the disk into the side of his computer. It loaded up on his holoscreen instantly. Schematics for a cloaking device. One that could be adapted to any scale, from a cargo ship to a tiny pistol.

"All right." He tucked his computer away and nodded at the leopard. "You came through, lass. You've got yourself another customer."

Siesta gave a small chuckle. "I don't cheat in my trade, skunk. It's bad for business."

She turned from him, ushering Nack on alongside her. The weasel was frowning at his own visor.

"Oi!" he exclaimed. "We agreed forty-sixty!"

"Exactly," said Siesta. "You get the forty."

"That wasn't the deal!"

They were barely off the docks when Rough closed the door to his ship, shutting their bickering outside. He'd got what he wanted. If things turned nasty, that leopard could handle herself. She looked strong enough to pick Nack up by his neck and toss him into the nearest trash skip.

"All right, I've got 'em." Rough fell back down in his seat.

"Then give them to me," said Gadget.

"Don't be so hasty, doc." Rough bared his canines. "First you're gonna save my brother, then you can have the schematics. We're headin' back to the Beatdrop Capital."

"How can you be so sure your brother is still there?" Gadget asked icily. "It's been nearly a week."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Rough shot him a glare over his shoulder as he pulled the ship out from the docking bay. "You planted a trackin' chip on him, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Then get trackin'. The sooner we get him, the sooner you can take these plans and do whatever you want with 'em."

The thought left a bad taste in Rough's mouth. But he pushed it aside as he turned his focus back onto saving his brother. And keeping Gadget at arm's length.

...

Silver had gathered up as much information as he could about the school. It was rather overwhelming. An entire list of teachers and students currently at the school, and all of them were there that day. It was drawing close to the end of the exam season, and a lot of students were engaging in after school study activities, pushing the teachers into working overtime. Where did one even begin? Silver had no idea what time the killer would strike, or who for that matter. Day or night? Would he have one target, or would it be a massacre? The hedgehog pinched his nose and grimaced. The latter really didn't bare thinking about.

His office door opened and Blaze strolled in, her expression unreadable. The cat still wasn't happy with his accusations, but neither was he. He didn't want her to turn out to be the murderer. Part of him hoped the killer would reveal himself soon, preferably while he and Blaze were on watch so they could save any more innocent lives from being lost.

The lavender cat set a steaming mug of coffee down on Silver's desk, then stood back and shifted her weight to one leg.

"I've been thinking," she said slowly. "About your suggestion to watch the school?"

"I'm not alone there then." Silver picked up his coffee and sipped it. It was very welcome.

"It seems too flawed a plan," Blaze went on. "The school is massive, and there's only two of us. That's two detectives watching out for a killer amid thousands of people. And only one of us is capable of fighting right now, especially given you're still recovering from your run-in with Metal Sonic."

Silver groaned at that. He let his head rest in one hand, masking his frustration with tiredness. "The problem is, Blaze, if we go in with an army then the killer might not show himself."

"I'm not suggesting we do." A small smile graced the cat's face, lifting Silver's spirits. "I have a better, much more effective plan."

"Oh?" She had his interest now. He lifted his head and his eyes widened.

"I say we evacuate everyone," she said. "Send them all out of the Beatdrop Capital."

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" said Silver. "I mean, it's the thick of the exam season. Where would they even go?"

"There are schools in other cities. Besides, once news gets out that the school is being targeted, attendance is bound to plummet. We can't keep this secret if we know what his next target is."

"Okay." Silver let out a small sigh. "And how do we go about that? It could take me hours to send out a mass email, and that's if the ones on record are even used regularly."

"Leave it to me."

"Leave it to you?" He raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan to do this?"

"Simple." Blaze sipped at her own coffee. "You appear to be forgetting that I'm the Mayor's daughter. All it takes is one little plea to my father, and he'll deal with the rest."

Silver's jaw dropped, drawing another smile from the cat.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he even finds them all lodgings," she said. "Clear out the school, reduce the threat to its minimum, and swoop in before the killer even knows what's hit him."

Silver shook his head in disbelief and let out a chuckle. "You're amazing, Blaze. I would never have thought of that."

"You're welcome." Blaze returned his smile and turned towards the door. "Let's face it. I need to prove my innocence somehow, don't I?"

Silver flinched and sank down in his seat as he watched her go. Even if she managed to prove her innocence, deep down he felt she'd never let that accusation go.

The cat paused by the door and cast a glance back over her shoulder. "They might have a suspect, now, anyway. Have you seen the news this morning?"

"No?" The joy in his voice even caught him off guard.

"Oh." She scratched behind her ear. "I suggest you have a little look. It's rather surprising."

She closed the door, leaving Silver feeling a lot lighter. He shunted the pile of names aside and quickly brought up the news site on his holoscreen.

...

Amy had decided against working in her studio. Instead, she sat at the breakfast bar, sketching away while sipping at her third coffee that morning. Her and Tangle sat in peaceful silence, broken only by the occasional grunt from the sleeping jackal.

Infinite took up the entire sofa, his tail curled up around his body and one arm hanging over the edge. Amy questioned why he'd not pulled it out into a bed, instead lounging in an uncomfortable fashion in a way that gravity threatened to soon ruin if he shifted any closer to the edge.

She desperately wanted him to wake up, and not just because she wanted the comfort of the sofa. Tangle was still reading the Beatdrop News site on her pocket computer, but the front page was emblazoned in Amy's mind. The police had a suspect for The Heartbreaker, and it thankfully wasn't Infinite.

Of course, it didn't explain his constant tiredness, or that odd tower he'd built. The latter was likely a coincidence.

Tangle had become excited when she'd read the article, but daren't breathe a word for fear of rousing Infinite. But Amy could tell the lemur had already structured an essay in her mind, and as soon as it was safe to blurt it out, Amy could bank on being on the receiving end of it. And it would likely be strewn with conspiracies backed with 'facts', and theories on how this killer actually worked.

Not that the news article hadn't already brought with it its own speculation.

Amy was just finishing off the final details on a cute star pattern she'd been working into a bobble hat, when a rustle came from the sofa. Followed by a loud yawn. She looked up as Tangle leapt from the bar stool to lean over the back of the sofa.

"You awake now, cutie?" she crooned.

Infinite fixed a crimson-tinted eye on her. "Don't ever call me cute, primate."

"I say what I see," said Tangle.

"Give him some space," said Amy. "Unlike you, he's not a morning person."

"Oh, I'm a morning person." Infinite sat up so quickly Tangle had to dodge a head-butt. "I just don't usually have to sleep this often."

The jackal moved into the kitchen and flicked on the coffee machine. Then, muttering to himself, he opened the various cupboards in search for his breakfast. As Amy expected, a jar of peanut butter and a box of gravy bones appeared on the counter. Then, much to her surprise, a box of frosted flakes. And a bowl. He poured out an even amount of gravy bones and frosted flakes into said bowl, then scooped out a handful of peanut butter to accompany it. He then opened the fridge, reached for the milk, muttered a 'nah' and grabbed an open bottle of apple juice. Amy's muzzle crinkled with disgust as he poured it into the bowl.

He grabbed his coffee from the machine, and plonked down opposite them both at the breakfast bar. A spoon appeared before his muzzle, stopping his hand mid swipe, and he raised an eyebrow at it.

Tangle leant her head on her free hand, bobbing the spoon up and down. "Manners?"

He let out a sigh and snatched the spoon, resigning himself to use it.

"They think they've found the serial killer," Amy said, returning to her sketches.

Infinite froze with the spoon in his mouth, staring at her. Prompting her to elaborate.

"Oh yeah!" Tangle leant towards him with a huge grin. "Some weirdo just showed up at the scene of the crime, then vanished into thin air!"

Infinite grunted and waved his spoon at Amy. "I want to hear it from her."

Amy looked up then, and Tangle's mouth tugged down into a frown.

"Aw, come on!" she whined. "I've been wanting to talk about this all morning, but no. I had to stay quiet for fear of waking the dragon!"

Infinite huffed and returned to his breakfast. But Amy couldn't help thinking that, given the circumstances, he'd taken that as a poor choice of words.

"Tangle has been looking into it quite a lot, actually," said Amy. "I think she knows more than me."

The lemur grinned at her then turned back to Infinite. But he didn't meet her eye. Instead he stared at Amy, eye narrowed, the claws of his free hand digging into the marble.

Amy shook her head, hoping he'd take the message that no, she had absolutely not said anything to Tangle about his concerns.

He gave a weak shrug and nodded at the lemur before returning to his breakfast.

Tangle let out a squeal and shifted so she was kneeling on the bar stool. "Get this! DotMatrix's house mate came home last night to find some weirdo in his bedroom. Just standing there. Then he just vanished! Poof! They think that's how he's been doin' it. Locked rooms and all that? Not a problem when you don't need a key, eh?"

"So who is it?" Infinite asked.

"Some black hedgehog," said Tangle. "They think his name's Shadow, or somethin'."

Infinite spluttered, scattering his breakfast medley over the bar, fortunately not all over Amy's work. He swiped a hand across his muzzle and stared at Tangle, wide-eyed. The lemur flicked crumbs from her face and shook out her ears.

"Thanks for that," she said, rather too chipper.

"Shadow?" Infinite gasped.

Tangle inclined her head on one side. "What? You know the guy?"

Infinite lowered his spoon and his eye flitted around the room. "I suppose it makes sense. You have a Sonic…"

"Huh?" Amy lowered her coffee to look up at him.

"So it makes sense you'd have a Shadow as well."

"What are you talking about?" Amy pressed. "What do you mean we 'have a Sonic'?"

Infinite clenched his fist around his spoon, oblivious to her question. "Unless… no he couldn't have followed me here! Are there photos of this Shadow?"

"Aye, yeah, there are now." Tangle whisked a webpage up onto her computer and flicked it towards Infinite. "People thought this wanted poster was to bait in space pirates, although I was always skeptical. But now-"

Her words were cut off as Infinite snatched it from her. He bared his canines and a growl slipped from the back of his throat.

"It is him!" he roared.

"You recognize him?" Amy asked.

"Of course I recognize him!" Infinite glared at the mugshot leering back at him. "After all he's done… and now he's trying to frame me?!"

"You're jumping to conclusions!" said Amy. "We don't know for a fact he's the killer!"

"He's the killer," Tangle scoffed. "Why else would he show up at a crime scene, pokin' around?"

"Investigating?"

"Mainframe have been dogging that guy for decades, Amy," said Tangle. "Apparently for 'reasons of scientific interest', whatever that means. Why wouldn't he lash out? Get back at the authorities. Throw a spanner in the works. 'Distract the bad guys'."

"You don't think he's a bad guy?" Infinite growled. "This guy murdered my friends!"

He tossed the computer onto the bar top and slid from his stool to march back into the living room.

"Dude, don't take it out on my Pineapple." Tangle grimaced as she retrieved her computer and brushed a hand over its screen.

Amy watched the jackal as he paced towards the sofa and stopped, running a hand over his masked muzzle. A small frown tugged at her lips and she slipped from her own stool to approach him.

"You said something about us having 'a Sonic'," she said. "If there's versions of us in your universe, how can you be sure he's actually your Shadow and not part of Mainframe?"

Infinite shrugged. "He wasn't born, he was made. Why would that happen in two separate universes?"

"Similarities?" suggested Tangle.

Infinite glanced back at her and snorted. "Sounds too easy. No… I think he came through Null Space when I did, and got himself caught up in his own mess. Now GUN want two aliens for their own sick reasons, yet little do they know they can't stand each other! Think about it. I break free, everyone hears about it, then all this starts? It's personal!"

Amy clenched her hands together, fighting the urge to shake her head and put him straight. She didn't know. It was perfectly plausible more than just Eggman and Infinite had come through Null Space. Eggman had even bought his own robot with him. Maybe someone else had survived and zipped away unnoticed, probably assuming Infinite had died during the explosion? He had told her he'd been left for dead.

But part of her couldn't help worrying that it was all wrong. That whatever Infinite's Shadow had done to him was so traumatizing he couldn't let go, and was lashing out at the wrong person. A doppleganger. Someone who just happened to look like him, and have the same name, but had lead a completely different life in a completely different world.

"Isn't it possible," she said quietly, "that you're wrong? You did say something about us having our own Sonic."

"I recognize Shadow," said Infinite. "I didn't recognize Sonic. I just assumed the fact he was a blue hedgehog with the same name was nothing more than a coincidence."

"You mean he looks different?"

"Old. Tired. Run down. Sickly…" Infinite lifted his hands in a shrug. "Sure, I never personally met my world's Sonic, but in the photos and videos I'd seen, he looked younger. Sprightly. Energetic. And very, very annoying."

Amy huffed. "Old? He's not much older than me!" She let out a sigh and ran her hands through her quills. "Although I know what you mean. He did look exhausted. I think he was run off his feet by that Gadget."

"Why am I not surprised?" Infinite flopped onto the sofa and rubbed his hands over his mask. Briefly considering taking it off. "I want to find that Shadow, so I'm going to do a bit of research. Don't interrupt me for a while."

Tangle appeared behind him and offered her computer. "Need this?"

"No. Now be quiet, primate. The Chaos Network gives me a headache, and I don't need you yammering in my ear."

He didn't look up, holding his head in his hands. Amy and Tangle exchanged glances then returned to the breakfast bar, leaving the jackal to his own devices.

...

Already noon. And there was still no sign of Rouge. Shadow had waited at their freshly-chosen hiding place in Beatdrop's entertainment district. A bar that had recently closed, a 'To Let' sign in its boarded-up window. Still fully furnished, and barely a hint of dust since it had only closed down a few days ago. No draft, no leaks…

The black hedgehog poked his head outside again, checking the rooftops for any sign of the bat. Nothing. Where on earth was she? It wasn't like her to be late, let alone several hours late. He considered contacting her again through the Chaos Network, but his last message hadn't been responded to yet.

His heart began to race, and not for the first time. Had something happened to her? It was beginning to look very likely. He paced back into the empty bar, went to sit back down on the sofa, then changed his mind. Instead, running back to the door to peer out at the street.

Nothing.

He let out a small groan and backed into the bar. Just caught up somewhere. That's all it was. Any minute now, she'd waltz through that door all smiles and sunshine. She'd tell him what she'd found, how much she'd sold it for, then playfully dig at him for being worried about her. Then she'd try to hug him, and he'd let her…

He balled his hands into fists and screwed his eyes shut. Never this late. She was never this late.

Something was wrong.

A soft sound came from the door and he jerked his head up towards it, his heart in his throat. "Rouge?"

The door nudged open wider and the small tin head of a robot dog poked around it. Its tongue lolled out when it saw him, in what was meant to be a friendly dog-smile. One that tried to assure him it meant no threat.

Shadow didn't trust it. He took a step back, leering at the metal canine as it strutted further into the bar, huge eyes on his. Smiling. Almost laughing.

Shadow bared a canine and lifted his hand, crimson energy surrounding it. One chaos spear would be all it would take to reduce the barking tin-can to shrapnel.

The dog's eyes lit up, freezing Shadow mid-strike. He braced himself to leap instead, to dodge whatever laser projectiles the dog had at its disposal. But it never came. Instead, a holographic image appeared at his feet. One Shadow instantly recognized.

Rouge knelt there, smiling up at him. She lifted her hands and the first thing he noticed was that she wasn't bound in any way.

'I'm sorry, Shadow,' she said. 'I'm still getting over a nasty tranq dart. But I want you to know I'm okay. And so are you. The soldiers I'm with don't believe for one second that you are the killer. In fact, they want to offer us somewhere to hide until all this blows over.'

"You're back with them, aren't you?" Shadow spat. "Back with GUN?!"

'I know what you're thinking,' she went on. 'And I've not turned back to GUN. These guys? They don't work for Eggman. They're trying to keep you away from him. If anything, they're the good guys! Please, Shadow. I can explain more when you get here. Just follow the dog. Its name is T-Pup.'

The hologram blinked out and the dog - T-Pup - lifted its head to look at him. Tongue still lolling out, panting like any flesh and blood dog would do. Then it let out a high-pitched yip. Shadow leapt back from it, unsure whether or not to actually follow it or trash it where it stood.

"She's right, you know."

Shadow looked up at the voice. A blue hedgehog stood in the doorway, his rifle strapped over his back. An easy grab if he needed to use it. Shadow recognized him instantly as one of the soldiers who'd ambushed him and Rouge in the park. Although he'd been more pre-occupied with Metal Sonic.

"Shadow, right?" The blue hedgehog leant against the wall and folded his arms. "My name's Sonic."

Shadow took a step forward, chaos energy surrounding both his fists and spreading to the rest of his body.

Sonic lifted a hand, his emerald eyes widening. "Hang on there. I'm not here to fight. I'm here to take you to your friend."

"She told me to follow the dog."

"I'm here in case you destroyed the dog."

Sonic didn't look remotely amused at the idea. Something about the tone in his voice told Shadow if it had come to that, he'd be dealing with that fight Sonic allegedly didn't want.

"Look," Sonic went on. "Tails and I? We don't believe you're the murderer. Neither does Rouge. But Eggman does. It's all over the media, Shadow. You were found at the scene of the crime, with no permit to even be there. And then you vanished without even explaining? It all looks suspicious. If you come with me and T-Pup, we'll take you to Rouge and you can hide out knowing you're safe."

"And then what?" Shadow growled. "You'll turn me over to whatever authorities you work for?!"

Sonic stared at him for a moment. Too long a moment. Shadow's quills bristled and that crimson energy intensified.

"No," Sonic finally said, taking Shadow by surprise. "I'm not about to turn over an innocent man. As far as I'm concerned, when all this blows over, you're free to go. Even if it costs me my job."

"And how do I know this isn't a trap and Rouge is the bait?"

"I guess my word isn't enough?" Sonic shrugged and pushed himself back from the wall. "Look. I'll tell you where she is, and you can use the Chaos Network to take us there. Then you'll see for yourself."

"You could be sending me right into an ambush." Shadow folded his arms and frowned at the other hedgehog. "We walk, and you lead me."

Sonic let out a lone laugh. "If we walk, you might as well have teleported yourself into an ambush. It's a long walk, pal. Right at the other end of the Beatdrop Capital. Everyone out there is gonna be keeping an eye open for you, so I'd say the Chaos Network is your safest bet."

"Then tell me where she is, and I'll go myself."

"Oh, I don't advise that." Sonic shook his head slowly. "You'll need me to get in."

Shadow clenched and unclenched his fists as he looked between the other hedgehog and the door. Rouge was with them. That meant, despite what she'd said, he wasn't entirely sure she was safe. If he wanted to save her, he needed to get to her. And the only way to do that was to go wherever this hedgehog took him. If things turned nasty, he could always fight back, grab Rouge and run.

He turned his crimson eyes back onto Sonic. "Fine. Then let's go."

A beaming smile split Sonic's face and he joined Shadow's side, stooping to pick up the robot dog. "Flux Alley. The old warehouse. Know where that is?"

"Of course I know where it is."

Before Sonic could reply, the Chaos Network appeared around them, forming a tunnel of data code. The trio shot along it, and Sonic let out a surprised yell that Shadow couldn't help smirking at. T-Pup, however, appeared to be having a blast. Its tongue lolling behind it as it watched the code fly by with utter fascination.

But it was only brief. The trio appeared in the specified alley, at the end of it, hidden behind a skip.

Sonic grimaced and shook a banana peel off his boot. "Couldn't land us by the door?"

"There might have been drones, or an ambush," said Shadow. "I wasn't taking that risk."

"Tails disables all spy cameras twice a day," Sonic explained. "It used to be once ever few days, but Eggman keeps cranking up the security recently." He stood beside the skip and waved a gloved hand into the alley. "And what did I tell you? No ambush."

Shadow followed his gesture then turned his eyes to the rooftops. Sonic wasn't lying. Not a soldier in sight. Shadow crept from his hiding place and followed Sonic and T-Pup to the warehouse shutter. A quick flash of his keycard, and the shutter rattled up on its rollers. The blue hedgehog ducked and rolled into the warehouse, with T-Pup skittering along beside him.

Shadow approached the shutter cautiously, ducking to peer inside. A dim light lit up what appeared to be a workshop, scented with grease and oil. Weapons adorned the walls, and several workbenches lay scattered about, strewn with all kinds of equipment. Some of which Shadow expected to find in a torture chamber.

Beyond all that was a small sitting area, where a white bat sat sipping tea and nattering to a fox. The soldier had his back to her, too busy with whatever he was working on to give her any time of day. But when the blue hedgehog greeted her, she responded with a smile. Then she lit up when she spotted Shadow standing in the open doorway.

"Hey there, handsome!" A playful smile appeared on her lips. "Were you worried about me?"

Shadow seethed, clenching his fists so tight his claws dug into his pads. "We're leaving!"

Rouge lowered her teacup, and the two soldiers looked up at him.

"Why?" she asked. "They want to help us."

"It's clearly a trap!" Shadow marched through the warehouse towards her.

"It's not a trap!" Rouge almost spilled her tea as he grabbed her wrist. "Shadow, please! If it was a trap, would I be sat here like this?"

He froze, looking her up and down. His pulse began to race again and he released her, taking a step back. He wanted to tell her she was scaring him, but the words wouldn't form. Instead, he bared his canines and his eyes flashed with chaos energy.

"Were you luring me into this trap the entire time?!" he roared.

Her jaw went slack and she did spill her tea then, sending the cup onto the floor. "What? No, of course not!"

"Well it looks like it!"

"Shadow, I used to work for Eggman!" Rouge protested. "These two don't. Do you honestly think I would have risked Omega's life like that? He died trying to protect you! And I've had a price on my head for the past year! I've not been lying to you!"

"Then what are you doing here with them?!" He pointed blindly into the room.

"I came here trying to find out if Tails' tranquilizer dart was why you're having problems with your powers lately!" Rouge rose to her feet and swiped tea from her body suit. "That pink mist? Your flawed teleporting? I was worried, and I was trying to help you."

Shadow screwed his eyes shut, still clenching his fists at his sides.

"I just happened to be here when I found out that Mainframe now thinks you are the murderer!" Rouge went on. "But all three of us in this room, and T-Pup, don't. And we all want to help clear your name. Okay?"

"She's right." Sonic had at some point drawn his rifle, and he strapped it over his back again. "This is a safe zone, pal."

"We are not pals," Shadow growled. "Besides, what happens once my 'name is cleared'? Are you just going to let us go?"

Sonic exchanged glances with Tails, and the fox shook his head, returning to his work. The gesture turned Shadow's blood to ice and he grabbed Rouge by her wrist.

"We'll give you a chance to flee," said Sonic. "Our job is still to turn you into our boss. But I'm not happy to do that when everyone thinks you're the murderer. They'll kill you if they believe it's you, and that doesn't settle well with me or Tails."

T-Pup barked once, but Tails said nothing.

"So what's it gonna be?" Sonic leant on the back of the sofa and folded his arms. "Are you gonna stay with us, where there's safety in numbers? Or are you going to continue running blindly through busy streets filled with soldiers and robots who won't hesitate to shoot you?"

Shadow blinked at the two soldiers, then turned back to Rouge. Suddenly, he didn't want to run anymore. Yet he wasn't happy staying there with two soldiers who's main job was to turn him over to their own little branch of GUN.

"If they can't find you," said Tails, "it won't be long until they unleash a Judge-grade robot. Then things will get very messy." The fox lifted up a sharp tool to examine it in the light. One that was designed to cleave through metal. "But I know a thing or two about deactivating those."

Sonic turned back to Shadow and grinned. "That's his way of saying he's got your back."

Shadow made a spitting noise through his lips and tugged Rouge closer to him. The Chaos Network was right there. He could get both of them out, and Sonic and Tails wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Please," Rouge whispered. "At least think about it? I know you find it hard to trust others, but you learned to trust me?"

"That was different," Shadow replied. "You weren't about to turn me over to the authorities once your own little plan had fizzled out."

"I never had a 'little plan'."

"Exactly."

Rouge sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, avoiding his eyes. "Okay. If you really want to run…"

Shadow looked over at the soldiers again. Tails was still occupied with his workbench, but Sonic stared back at him from behind the sofa and shrugged.

"It's up to you," he said. "But once you're out of our hands, our protection ends. You don't want it, then we'll be back to hunting you, alongside whatever else Eggman throws at you."

Shadow grimaced and turned away from him, back to Rouge. The bat met his eyes then, worried, pleading. He sighed and released her, taking a step back.

"Fine," he said. "I'll give you a chance."

"Great!" Sonic pushed himself back from the sofa, and T-Pup joined his side, its spindly tail wagging frantically. "I'll go make us all some tea, then, eh?"

"Decaff," said Tails.

Shadow's entire body tensed, refusing to relax. He watched as Rouge returned to her spot on the sofa, idly wiping at a patch still damp with tea.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "What have I got myself into?"

...

**Review Replies:**

**XtraXP - Hey, nice to see you back! =D I know what it's like to be so far behind on a story. Pretty daunting to catch up! Thanks for sticking with it! I hope you continue to enjoy =3**

**Thanks for reading, everyone. Please R&R! =D**


	34. Sleepless Chapter 11

**A/N - You almost didn't get an update today. I totally forgot today was my scheduled day and thought it were tomorrow instead. Until evening and I remembered. Oops! XD**

**Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D **

Chapter Eleven

Infinite had been scouring the Chaos Network most of the day, on and off. It still caused him a headache, and he'd eventually had to cave and ask Amy for some pain killers just so he could keep going. Finally, with a pulsing head, he had some answers about that Shadow, and it was all so very interesting and ominous.

The black hedgehog had indeed shown up about the same time Infinite and Eggman had. But allegedly Shadow's roots went all the way back to a laboratory experiment in the former Gamma City, which was now entirely consumed by Null Space. There had been an explosion in the lab, followed rapidly by the arrival of Null Space. Hardly anyone had survived the explosion, and those who had resided in the city had been obliterated. Either consumed in a fiery blaze or dragged into Null Space never to be seen again.

The lab's explosion was nothing more than 'word of mouth', spread by passers-by and those living outside the city who reported to have seen an explosion. Given the lab had been deep in the heart of the city - a university laboratory dedicated to medical science - there wasn't much evidence to back it. If Shadow had indeed been in that laboratory, he was the lone survivor.

What was interesting was the amount of data that had survived, purged from the computers by GUN. Eggman's branch of GUN. The rogue branches had obtained the information through hiring hackers and mercenaries and, in exceptionally rare circumstances, space pirates and Phantom Thieves. There were discrepancies in the data, but one thing remained the same.

Shadow the Hedgehog had indeed been created in Mainframe. But was it their Shadow that was running free? Or was it Mobius's Shadow that had followed, or been dragged into, Mainframe much like Infinite had? An unexpected twist that had the black hedgehog running for his life, and upon discovering Infinite had not only survived but broken free of Gadget's grasp, Shadow now set out to frame him as a murderer?

There was no evidence to back Infinite's theories. The only thing that pointed towards a deliberate framing was the timing. Shadow had been eluding the authorities for as long as Infinite was locked up, and now he was free the hedgehog had begun killing people. The first one was believed to be merely two days after Team Datastream had bust Infinite from his cell.

Two days.

Why hide for five decades then risk revealing your existence to the world?! It had to be deliberate. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence.

But how could he prove it?

Infinite lowered his hand from his face to stare at the dark ceiling. Silence. It was an odd sensation after being stuck for so long in his own head. Amy and Tangle had long since retired for the night, leaving Infinite deep in the Chaos Network. He couldn't even recall them wishing him goodnight. Although there was the unsettling realisation he may have received a hug at some point off that annoying lemur.

Proving it… Mainframe now believed that Shadow was the killer. So he didn't need to reveal his face to the world, Shadow had done that himself by making a foolish mistake. Returning to the scene of the crime. Many people sympathized with him there, stating he was likely just investigating like any concerned Mainframer would, should they have the gall and power to do so. If he could vanish and reappear at will using the Chaos Network, then why not pop in and see if there was something the detectives had missed?

Infinite scoffed at that. He'd clearly shown up to finish the job by taking out DotMatrix's room-mate, but had been spotted and scared off when two people showed up instead of one.

Whether or not Mainframe knew he was the killer, whether or not he was caught, Infinite wanted to make sure Shadow knew full well he was onto him. That he knew Shadow was trying to frame him, and he wasn't going to stand for it. With the power of the Phantom Ruby at his disposal, Shadow wouldn't stand a chance. He'd be squashed like a fly. Slowly. Painfully. One painful minute after the other for each of his squad mates that wretched hedgehog had heartlessly murdered.

A low growl reached Infinite's ears and he became aware it was coming from himself. He snapped his mouth shut and paused, searching the apartment with his ears. But no one had been disturbed.

He sank back against the arm of the sofa and sighed. It wasn't going to be that easy, was it? If Shadow had been eluding the authorities for fifty years, could Infinite even find him? He looked every bit like any other Mainframer or Mobian. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. His only option really was to lurk around the school until he showed up. That was believed to be the next target, or someone who worked there at least. But all the teachers and students had been sent out of the Beatdrop Capital for their own safety while GUN tracked down Shadow. If there was no target, would there even be an attempt at murder? And now they knew who it was, would he even dare try?

The sound of the toilet flushing came from the far end of the corridor, followed by soft footsteps. Infinite couldn't see who it was, but it brought another problem into the mix.

Amy.

He couldn't just leave her to go off on his own little revenge path. It wasn't just the horrific murders gracing the news sites, but the news of slash marks and blood in alleyways and marring the streets. Sightings of a vicious monster with long claws and the reports of grunts and howls in the night. All things the news reporters were lumping in with this Heartbreaker, only adding to the nightmarishness of it all. A killer who not only crushed the hearts of his victims, but also ran rampant down alleyways attacking bystanders and cleaving gashes into brick and stone. Or… an accomplice.

Infinite knew better. He knew full well that monster on the loose was 'Project Wreckingball'. Amy had encountered it herself once already. If he went off looking for Shadow, she and her friends would be vulnerable. And he couldn't stand that. What if they encountered it again and he wasn't there to help?

Or what if Shadow showed up in her apartment when he was out looking for him? Leaving Infinite to come home to find…

His blood turned cold and he let his eyes close. Exhausted. Head pounding. Heart racing. Yet all he wanted was to find that Shadow and do to him what he did to his friends. His family.

But he couldn't. The sheer thought chilled him and turned his stomach. If anything happened to her because of his carelessness, he'd blame himself.

There had to be another way to deal with it. One that didn't put Amy or her friends in danger. His arm flopped across his face and he took a deep breath. He'd have to think about it more later. That wretched exhaustion was setting in again, as if something were draining him. No, he wasn't about to sleep again. Not when he had so much to mull over. So he pushed himself from the sofa to seek out a quick snack.

...

Shadow's black fur lit up with a faint red glow as he frowned at his open hand. Several crimson cubes floated over it, drifting around idly. They'd come from nowhere, just appeared while he'd been scouring the Chaos Network. But after a while he realised he had some level of control over them, and had blinked them in and out of existence several times before trying something new. It took a lot of concentration just to get them to move, and he was rapidly tiring. It wasn't something that had happened before, but if it was related to that pink mist then he wanted to explore it. Control it somehow, before it cost him dearly.

'Shadow?'

"Hey!"

The cubes vanished and Shadow jerked his head up to meet Sonic's playful emerald eyes.

"What are you doing back here?" Shadow grunted.

"I just wondered what you were up to," Sonic explained.

"Nothing." Shadow idly wiped his hands on his torso. "Now get out."

"It didn't look like nothing," said Sonic.

"It was nothing."

"That actually looked a lot like what Infinite can do."

Shadow's muzzle creased. "Eh?"

"Yeah, although on a much smaller scale." Sonic straightened and scratched his nose. "Given the damage he can cause, I'm kinda relieved, I gotta say."

A soft grunt came from the corner of the room as Rouge flipped herself over to face the wall.

Shadow cast a glance towards the sleeping bat then pushed himself to his feet. "Keep your voice down."

Sonic complied, giving Rouge a sideways glance of his own. "Then I guess we can continue this conversation back out in the workshop?"

"There is no conversation."

"Oh, I think there is." Sonic winked. "Rouge told us you've been showing some unusual talents lately, and I'm concerned. If they're the same thing-"

Concerned?

Shadow placed a hand on Sonic's chest and pushed him backwards towards the door. A look of surprise crossed the blue hedgehog's face before he realised what Shadow was actually doing. The door closed behind them and they stood in the dimly lit workshop. Tails was still working away at some machine Shadow didn't care enough to question.

He fixed his crimson eyes back on Sonic's. "What do you know?"

"Well, I know they've been troubling you for a few days. Or at least that's what you've told Rouge." Sonic smirked as Shadow narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm willing to bet you've been experiencing this strange power for longer than that, and you just don't want to worry her."

Shadow bared a canine and clenched his fist as he fought the urge to grab the annoying soldier by the scruff.

"I meant what do you know about these powers!" he said.

"Not much, actually." Sonic shrugged. "I only know what I've seen, and prior to that I only had access to some limited records. But the crimson cubes are the same. I'm lead to believe that Infinite uses his powers to manipulate reality."

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "How?"

"I don't really know the specifics. Just all the scientists in GUN called it 'virtual reality'. He could create something, and the effects would either stick or fade away."

"I'd say that was more down to his inability to control it," Tails piped up. "He could create something and paste it over our reality. So if he wanted a door, he could create a door. Or blast one into a wall with some virtual explosion. It's more similar to augmented reality than virtual." The twin-tailed fox looked up, expression blank and unnerving. "Have you tried anything like that yet?"

Shadow absently shook his hand as if those crimson cubes were bothering him again. Something about the fox's words had unsettled him.

"A door?" he asked.

"Anything really," said Tails. "It doesn't have to be a door. I'm just curious as to what those powers can do, and if they're going to prove a threat to GUN or anyone here."

Shadow clenched his teeth, stifling a hiss. But Sonic laughed and smacked the black hedgehog on the back.

"Oh, I don't think Shadz is gonna pose any threat to us while we're helping him, Tails."

Shadz?

Shadow fixed Sonic with an expression almost as blank as Tails'.

"Maybe not now," said Tails. "But once we part ways-"

Sonic attempted to shush his friend, but Shadow wasn't listening anymore. A door… if Infinite could create a door, then did that mean he was behind those killings? He could come and go with that pink mist, if he could control it better than Shadow anyway. Or gain access by some virtual door he could create and vanish at will. And as for executing the killings… if he could alter reality then why not cover up his victims without a blemish in sight? Wipe out all finger prints, fur, any traces of DNA.

Shadow's claws dug into his palms as his entire body began to tremble. Sonic and Tails fell silent, and he became increasingly aware of their eyes on him.

"You all right there, Shadz?" Sonic asked.

Shadow jerked his head up towards him. "I'm fine."

"I disagree," said Tails flatly.

"I'm with Tails," said Sonic. "You've gone seriously pale."

Shadow was silent as he stared at the shutter. One of the lights above it flickered, casting an erratic shadow across its corrugated surface.

"I think I know who the real killer is," he said slowly.

Sonic raised an eyebrow while Tails lowered his spanner.

"Oh?" Sonic asked.

"It's that jackal, isn't it?" said Shadow. "The method, the timing…"

Sonic and Tails exchanged glances, and a dull whine came from behind the workstation. It rapidly became a whimper, then T-Pup scurried back and forth out of sight.

Sonic let out a sigh and brushed back his quills. "I dunno…"

Tails turned from the workstation with T-Pup in tow. "I'll go and get my biggest gun."

"No, wait!" Sonic reached out a hand to his friend, freezing Tails on the spot. "We know it can't be Infinite, right? Amy is still with him, and I know she wouldn't stand for something like that. Besides, wouldn't she be at risk?"

"Not unless she was an accomplice," said Tails.

"We know Amy," said Sonic, aghast. "She wouldn't do something like this."

"How much do you ever really know someone?" asked Tails.

The look that crossed Sonic's face suggested to Shadow that that comment had struck a little too close to home.

The dark hedgehog brushed the pair off and marched towards the shutters. "I don't care if you two do something about this or not. I'll deal with this myself."

"You know what will happen once you leave here," Tails warned.

"I'm not leaving," said Shadow. "I'll come back once I've done some investigating."

"It's the same thing," said Tails. "You leave, you and Rouge are free game to turn into our boss."

Rouge…

Shadow snapped his head around towards the fox. "Are you blackmailing me, robot?!"

Tails met Shadow's glare with an empty stare. Chaos energy swirled around Shadow, interspersed with strings of binary.

Corrupted binary.

Shadow glanced down at it and his blood turned cold. The Chaos Network fizzled out, and he let his arms relax at his sides. Something definitely wasn't right.

"I don't understand," he began, slowly, "why I have that jackal's powers. Okay, say he's not behind these murders, I still want answers. Why do I have them? And what are they doing to me?"

"'Why' might not be something you need to track him down to uncover," said Tails. "If they manifested in you in the past few days-"

"It's been more than a few days," said Shadow. "I only told that to Rouge so I didn't worry her."

"See? I knew it." Sonic scratched his chin. "How long then, exactly?"

"I don't know," Shadow scoffed. "A couple of weeks? Small things. I didn't think much of it at all until they started to get worse."

"Then it could have coincided with him removing his detainment collar," said Tails. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case at all."

Shadow's brow furrowed, but Sonic voiced his question perfectly. "What are you getting at, bro?"

"Infinite's powers were suppressed for years," Tails explained. "All experiments only had him without that collar for about five minutes at the most. It's safe to say he was fairly inept with them. If Shadow's powers are linked to Infinite's, then the stronger and more accomplished Infinite becomes, the stronger they will manifest in Shadow."

"That sounds a bit too complicated," said Sonic. "How did Shadz even get these powers in the first place? They're alien to our world. They come from that… ruby thing in his chest, right?"

"That's what was believed," said Tails. "We don't know for certain, and Infinite was very secretive about it. But you read about Shadow's creation yourself, right? Infinite can also regenerate with that 'Dark Arms' DNA, and he's shown he can access the Chaos Network. He can vanish without that pink mist, much like Shadow can. So I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with that explosion."

Sonic was silent as he stared at his friend, idly scratching his cheek. Shadow looked between the two, slowly bristling.

He flashed his canines and took a step towards the fox. "So you're telling me that this has been lying in wait for over fifty years like some time bomb waiting to go off?!"

"Hey, hang on a sec!" Sonic leapt between them and placed a hand on Shadow's chest. "Tails isn't the one who created you! Don't lash out at him."

"It's fine, Sonic." Tails didn't look the slightest bit unnerved. "I'm only guessing, anyway. But it makes a lot of sense."

"It makes too much sense." Rouge leaned in the doorway to the little room she'd been sleeping in. "I think you're onto something, hon. It might be a good idea to track down that jackal and see if he can't help us."

"And what if I'm right and he's the murderer?" Shadow scoffed. "I'm not putting you at risk!"

"You're not putting me at risk," Rouge chuckled. "But if it makes you feel any better, then we go after him armed. Okay?"

Sonic lowered his face into his hands and groaned. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

...

Rough's black ship drifted low over the Beatdrop Capital, invisible to the people below. He'd thought tracking Tumble down again was going to be near impossible, but both he and Gadget had heard the skunk's howls and roars no sooner had they reached the heart of the city.

People fled in all directions, scampering into alleys too narrow for Tumble to maneuver easily. But the enraged skunk's full attention was on one citizen, leaving the rest to escape.

Rough dashed around his cockpit, grabbing his own weapons. He didn't usually use firearms but if he needed to keep his distance from his brother, then needs must. He holstered them on his barely used belt and fired a glare at Gadget who waited patiently by the air lock.

"You can put that away," Rough grunted.

The wolf looked up from his gravity gun, a small smirk plastered on his muzzle. "Oh, I don't think so, skunk. Do you really think either of us can detain that monster with physical strength alone?"

"I don't plan to use physical strength," Rough countered. "I plan to use reasonin'."

"Don't be ridiculous," Gadget spat. "You can't reason with that thing!"

"That 'thing'," Rough scoffed, "is my bro! So watch what you say, doc, or I'm tossin' you from the air lock."

Gadget tutted and tucked his gun back inside his trench coat. "As if you think I'd give you that chance?"

Rough grunted and scanned his hand over the panel beside the air lock. The door whizzed open and cool air flooded through it. And with it came the noise. The howls, screams, and zaps from a laser weapon. In the distance rang a siren as a Strider Drone broadcast the situation back to Eggman.

No… Eggman wasn't going to get a hand in this. If he got hold of Tumble, that was it. Rough would lose him forever. The sheer thought created a gnawing sensation in his gut.

Rough screwed his eyes shut and grabbed onto his ship's ladder, dropping down towards the streets below. Gadget wasn't far behind him, and the pair landed in a squat on the concrete. The Strider's camera didn't so much as twitch, but its presence made Rough increasingly aware of the wolf next to him.

But now was not the time to be worrying about treason.

Rubble exploded from beneath Tumble's metal claws, raining down onto the streets and peppering Rough's dark fur with grey. The citizen defending herself leapt back from him, firing her laser. But each shot only bounced off his helmet in a flash of blue. It was difficult to say what species she was, but from the tail alone she was clearly a canine. Her face was almost entirely obscured by some strange mask. The left eyepiece was wide and blue, lit up as whatever technology was behind it allowed her to keep her mark. Either that, or she was just a superb marksman.

Another laser fire and Tumble's deadly claws were deflected and he tottered backwards, a mechanical howl slicing through the main streets of Beatdrop.

Rough could barely take his eyes off the canine. Her black coat, mask, weapon… everything about it reeked of GUN. So now they had got involved? Well he wasn't about to let her take his brother into custody.

He dashed away from Gadget and curled into a ball, letting off his stink bomb as he rolled between Tumble and the soldier. The canine coughed, staggering back from them and waving her hand before her face. Tumble twisted, trying to follow Rough through the smog that filled the air.

Rough pushed himself to his feet and waved to draw the larger skunk's attention. "Here I am, bro. Miss me?"

The blue lights on either side of Tumble's helmet flickered erratically. Then he threw his head back and howled. His metal claws glinted in the dim light as he raised them above his head.

"That's a no then?" said Rough.

He leapt aside as the large skunk flew through the air. But he didn't hit the ground. He thrashed, suspended in the air inside a blue bubble of anti-gravity.

Rough flashed his sharp teeth at Gadget, but the female soldier had her laser trained on the scientist. Her finger fastened over the trigger, but she seemed to be hesitating to pull it, as if she'd realized doing so would release the beast back into the streets and they'd all die at his claws.

Gadget gave her a sly smile. "Wise."

He marched towards them, keeping Tumble trapped and flailing in his bubble. His grunts and howls were muffled, and each movement looked strained as if he were trying to swim through tar.

"I told you no anti-gravity!" Rough snapped.

Gadget ignored him, instead keeping his full attention on the larger skunk. "Now… let's try and figure out where that helmet went wrong, hmm?"

"Hey! You're meant to be removin' it, not fixin' it!"

"I never agreed to remove it, you disgusting space pirate," Gadget snapped. "I needed that cloaking technology and I said what I had to in order to get it. I was never your ally, skunk, I just took advantage of your slow wit."

"I never gave it to ya," Rough growled. "So you've wasted that opportunity, eh?"

Gadget smirked, sending a chill down Rough's spine.

"Why you slimy little…" Rough bristled from ear to tail.

He moved backwards away from Gadget, drawing closer to the GUN soldier. Her weapon was still aimed at Gadget, but she didn't appear afraid. Instead calculating.

"All right, I didn't know none o' that," Rough muttered loud enough for her to hear him. "I thought he were gonna remove that helmet and save my brother. I just wanted you to know that before ya turn us all into GUN."

"Not with GUN." Her voice was oddly quiet, almost drowned out by the muffled grunts from Tumble and the Strider's siren. "Help him. I've got the wolf."

'Help him'? Rough blinked. Of course, she'd been aiming for his helmet!

Before he could reply, she zipped away from him and fired her weapon once. Gadget yelped and the white shell of his gun arced through the air, reflecting the neon lights. Tumble struck the ground before Rough with a grunt. But Tumble staggered to his feet before his brother could finish processing it all.

Tumble brought the huge claws of his right hand around in a swipe, and Rough leapt into the air with a squeal. He tucked in his tail and scurried away from Tumble, drawing the larger skunk after him.

"I know you miss your tail, bro, but that don't mean you have to cut off mine!"

Another swipe of iron claws and the concrete exploded behind him. Rough rolled out of the way as rubble bounced off his body. He skidded to a stop as a misfire from the girl's weapon bounced off the white wall of an office block. Gadget had slapped her arm aside in a bid to disarm her, but she kept spinning, turning it into a crescent kick. Her foot struck the wolf's head and he stumbled back, catching his heel on the curb. Rough didn't see him fall as Tumble's body crashed down on all-fours beside him, all hair and muscle. Rough found himself on the receiving end of a back-hand that sent him careening backwards into a trash can.

He blinked a few times to dismiss the haze that filled his head. He'd been sent into the mouth of an alley.

Tumble's huge form blocked out the light, making the crimson glow of his eye piece and the flickering blue lights all the more terrifying.

Rough struggled to clamber back out of the trash can. He didn't take his eyes off his brother, bracing himself for another lunge. Those flickering lights went into overdrive and Tumble shook his head violently, crashing it against the stone walls of either building like some giant, metal ping-pong ball. Sparks lit up the alley, peppering the wet trash and causing it to smolder slightly before giving up.

Rough saw his chance. He took a step back and gave his brother a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry 'bout this, bro…"

Then he leapt forward, landing a kick to the larger skunk's torso. He flew back from him with a grunt and landed in a sprawl on his back. A loud squeal rent the air and as Rough dashed towards him he spotted Gadget struggling beneath Tumble's bulk. The female canine stooped to help him, reaching for his hand. Tumble jerked his head towards Gadget and leapt to his feet, bringing his claws around towards the wolf. The girl ducked and rolled out of the way, and Gadget howled as the claws ran straight through his right shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

The blue lights on Tumble's helmet flickered and he froze briefly. Enough for Rough to spot something strange on the back of his helmet. A soft tube, sparking where wires had frayed through the surface. A weak spot? There was only one way to find out…

Tumble brought up his other hand, claws glinting in the dim light. Gadget's eyes widened with terror, then fixed on Rough as he leapt through the air towards Tumble.

The smaller skunk brought his foot down towards Tumble's head, aiming for the back of the helmet.

"No!" Gadget wailed.

Sparks flew beneath Rough's boot and Tumble lurched forwards, almost nutting Gadget in the muzzle. The blue lights flickered a few times, then went out altogether. Tumble fell face first towards the ground, motionless.

"Tumble?!" Rough gasped as he rushed to the fallen skunk's side. "Bro? Can you hear me?!"

Silence. An odd silence, despite the shrill alarm from the Strider Drone. Chopper blades sounded in the distance as Eggman's fleets finally leapt into action, heading their way. Rough didn't care. He occupied himself with trying to free Tumble's metal claws from the ground and Gadget's shoulder. Not to help the wolf, but to hurry the fallen skunk onto his ship.

The other canine joined him, fastening her hands around Tumble's arm and yanking the blades free of the concrete.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

Rough honestly couldn't answer that. Tears pricked his eyes as he stared down at his brother. The frayed wires sparked more aggressively, dancing over the wet tarmac. His chest rose and fell with each steady breath, but that didn't mean the helmet hadn't caused some level of damage.

"I dunno," he said flatly.

"You idiot!" Gadget hissed.

The red wolf swayed beside him, clutching his shoulder. A fruitless act. Fresh blood ran down his arm and trench coat to pool at his feet.

"I told you if you tried to remove the helmet yourself you could-" Gadget's words were cut off as he found a pistol in his face.

"Go." The female canine didn't look away from Gadget, but Rough didn't need telling twice.

He summoned his ship, and its ladder dropped from beneath its cloak. He hoisted Tumble onto his back and clambered up the ladder, out of sight.

Once the air lock had closed behind him, he turned towards the back of his ship. No bedrooms. Just a room for storing things. It would have to do.

He set Tumble down on the floor and dropped down beside him. Still silent. Unmoving.

"I'm sorry, bro," he said. "We'll get you help, all right? I promise we'll get that helmet off, but you have to promise me you'll be back to your normal self."

Nothing.

Rough pushed himself up and nodded, turning from the room. He gave one last glance back at his brother before letting the door close behind him. Then, just to be safe, he locked it.

He stared at his hand over the lock panel, snuffling as repressed tears leaked free. Then he rubbed them away with his other hand.

Gadget…

He growled out a mutter and turned from the door, marching back towards his bridge. He yanked open the small drawer beneath his control deck and cursed under his breath.

The cloaking schematics were gone.

...

**Please R&R! =D**


	35. Sleepless Chapter 12

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D **

Chapter Twelve

The morning news was barely more than a drone in the background while Amy ate her cereal. Not at her bar, as had become the norm, but instead lounging on the sofa. It had been an odd night. She'd barely slept, too busy lying awake listening to Infinite muttering to himself in the living room. She'd decided not to say anything about it, and had also decided not to get up and investigate for fear she'd find him in a similar trance to the night she'd walked in on him building that tower block.

The jackal sat beside her, spooning his odd breakfast into his mouth. A cacophony of sandwich fillings and bran cereal. Well, at least it was a little bit healthy?

Infinite jerked his head up towards the TV and gave Amy a nudge with his elbow. The pink hedgehog lowered her spoon to follow his gaze, tuning in on the words of the news reporter.

'… has finally left the Beatdrop Capital's streets! Last night, people reported seeing a battle unfold just outside the business district. Late night workers were scattered as the monster fought against a space pirate, the wanted fugitive Gadget, and someone onlookers believe may actually be Mainframe's Guardian Angel!'

A photo appeared on the screen, oddly clear. But the identity of the 'Guardian Angel' was obscured behind a mask. Amy gave a sideways glance towards Infinite, who nodded at the screen with approval while continuing his odd breakfast.

As Amy returned to the news report, the door burst open and Tangle marched in, cradling two heaving bags of groceries.

"Look who I found wandering the streets like a lost lamb!" she said.

Whisper wandered in behind her, giving the room's occupants a weak smile.

"Goodness!" Amy lowered her bowl to her lap. "Whisper? We've not seen you in two days! That must have been some big journalist report!"

"Nah! She clearly got lost!" Tangle unloaded the bags onto the breakfast bar.

"Don't be silly!" Amy turned back to Whisper. "So what was it?"

"Big report." Whisper turned to join Tangle in unpacking the bags. "Found apartment, too."

"Nice!" Infinite licked jam off his spoon. "Does that mean we're losing the big-mouth, now?"

Tangle chuckled and waved her tail. "Ahh, you know you love me."

Infinite let out a snort and stuffed his spoon back into his bowl.

"Hey, hang on!" Tangle leapt from the bar and landed right between Amy and Infinite on the sofa. "They got a photo?!"

All eyes went back on the television. The report was still ongoing, although it was less about the monster and more about the 'Guardian Angel' as they compared the photo with others taken over the past year. The photo had been zoomed in, and as a result had lost a lot of its crispness.

"Hey, her fashion looks a lot like yours, Whisper!" Tangle crooned. "I guess you've got somethin' in common then, eh? Unless there's somethin' you're not telling me?" She laughed and slapped herself on the knee.

Infinite looked over his shoulder at the wolf and raised an eyebrow.

'The monster's body has yet to be found,' the reporter announced as the photo finally left the screen to be replaced by the rabbit's head. 'But it is safe to say that both the monster, and Gadget, are no longer a threat to Mainframe's citizens.'

Infinite almost dropped his spoon. "They… they caught Gadget?"

"Yes." It was Whisper who answered. She stood behind them with a fresh mug of coffee. "All over the news. Was arrested last night."

The group fell silent, save for Whisper sipping her coffee.

"Well… what now?" Amy's voice was oddly small. "Are they going to execute him?"

"No idea," said Whisper.

Amy looked at her other two friends. Tangle shrugged, while Infinite's eye grew distant.

"Then that's good, right?" Amy went on. "That monster and Gadget are both off the streets. All that's left now is the killer, and they think they know who that is. So if they're right and Shadow is caught, Mainframe will be safe again."

"Yeah, until the next problem rears its ugly head," said Tangle. "There's always gonna be bad people out there."

Infinite let out a grunt and placed his empty bowl on the table. "Your annoying friend is right. Evil people are everywhere, and just because one - or two - are caught, it doesn't make the world perfect."

"I didn't say it was perfect," said Amy. "I said Mainframe will be safe again."

"Safer, maybe. But not safe." Infinite pushed himself up and beat crumbs off his fur. "I'm gonna take a shower, and I might be a while. I have some thinking to do, and I can't very well do it around certain primates."

Tangle snorted laughter. "I didn't think I distracted ya that much!"

Infinite's muzzle creased and he turned his tail on them to head towards the bathroom.

Tangle tucked her arms behind her head as she watched him go. "So, what d'ya suppose he's thinking about?"

Amy let out a small sigh and placed her bowl on the table to join the jackal's. "He thinks the killer might be trying to frame him."

"I don't get it, though," Tangle scoffed. "Why would some fugitive experiment try to frame Infinite?"

"Makes a lot of sense," said Whisper.

Tangle turned to her, aghast, while Amy merely raised an eyebrow.

Whisper shrugged. "Hunted for years. Infinite escapes. Why not create a distraction?"

"Infinite thinks Shadow came from his world," said Amy. "And they're enemies. So if he's right, and Shadow is the killer, then it could be personal. Not a distraction."

"But he said there's a Sonic back in his world too," said Tangle. "So this Shadow could just as easily be a doppelganger. I mean, I read tons of conspiracy theories about this guy, and not one of them had him pegged as an alien."

Amy rubbed her face with her hands and slumped forwards. "There's merit to both theories."

"And we don't know if this Shadow guy is the killer yet, either." Tangle leant forward on her knees. "So somethin' else might crop up!"

Amy shook her head at her friend. "You're a little too excited about this."

Whisper inclined her head on one side, gazing off towards the bathroom. "It might be him."

Amy stiffened and Tangle looked between the two.

"Hang on, Whisper," said Tangle, jaw dropping. "You think Infinite's the killer?"

Whisper shrugged again, and Amy lowered her hands to stare at the TV. The news article had changed to updates on The Heartbreaker. Theories as to when he might strike again, and cementing the facts that every single person involved with the school had been evacuated to the surrounding towns and cities.

Tangle turned towards her. "Amy, what do you…?" She broke off, taking in the hedgehog's dour expression. "You think it's Infinite, too?"

The lemur's words were quiet enough not to be picked up in the bathroom.

Amy rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. It wasn't as if she believed Infinite was the murderer. At least, not completely. The Phantom Ruby possessed some level of sentience, he'd told her that himself. But she couldn't tell her friends that. It would be breaching his confidence. If it was acting out like she worried it might be, then it was down to the two of them to figure it out. So what could she really say?

Amy sighed and wound her fingers together. "I honestly don't know. But… I really don't want it to be him."

...

"Urgh, I didn't think this was going to be easy." Sonic leant his head in his hands, taking a much needed break from his computer.

A soft whimper came from beside him as T-Pup nuzzled his leg. Tails, on the other hand, continued to browse his own computer while sipping away at his coffee.

"No joy?" asked Rouge.

It was a pointless question. They'd been looking for Amy's new address for ages, but it was becoming more and more apparent that she'd not updated it yet. That meant she was either still in a hotel, or had only recently moved. Neither of which settled well with Sonic.

"She could be anywhere in Mainframe." Tails' voice cemented his fears.

Sonic groaned and rubbed his temples. "Then that means Infinite could also be anywhere in Mainframe."

"Wouldn't that rule him out as the murderer?" asked Rouge.

"Not necessarily," said Shadow. "If he can teleport like I can, then he could travel far distances in seconds."

"Seconds, eh?" Sonic lifted his head and leant back in his seat. "How does that work with time zones?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes at him, not taking the bait of the hedgehog's joke at all.

"We're only left with one choice," said Tails. "We'll need to wait at the school, day in day out, until the murderer makes an appearance."

"So 'catch him in the act'?" Sonic grimaced. "I don't like the sound of that, Tails. Someone could die."

"It would be for a greater cause," said Tails. "Catch the killer, and no more lives get lost."

"I don't know about you, bud, but I'd rather do this without losing any lives."

A loud thud shook the table, causing all eyes to snap onto Shadow.

"This is pointless!" he roared. "We're wasting time! We should be out there searching for him! Killer or not, I want answers as to where these powers have come from!"

"I understand that, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Sonic explained. "Let's face it, Shadz, how hard have you made it for GUN to find you all these years? It's no different."

"Except there's less people looking for Infinite," said Tails.

"Exactly," said Sonic. "That's less people to cover more ground."

Tails sipped his coffee. "I actually meant that would mean Infinite would be less inclined to hide."

"Oh…"

"If he's even in the Beatdrop Capital, that is," Tails went on. "He's not exactly a media sensation anymore, so there's no photos more recent than two weeks old. He was last sighted in the park. If Amy has decided to set up residence here, then he shouldn't be too hard to find."

"If he's even still with her," said Sonic.

Shadow clenched his teeth and dug his claws into the table.

Rouge looked between all three of them. "Well, I can cover more ground from the sky. I can have a good search, while you two speedy 'hogs race up and down the streets."

"I can also cover the sky," said Tails. "T-Pup, too. If it goes off on its own, it can record things for us."

T-Pup gave an affirmative bark.

"And once we've scouted out the area," Tails went on, "we'll meet back here before dark. I'll head back first to make sure Eggman hasn't sent more drones into the alley. The last thing we need right now are mindless spies recording our every movement."

"That settles it then!" Sonic pushed himself back from the table. "This has been a slow slog so far, so let's get this ball rolling!"

"Roger." Tails rose and reached for his rifle.

"And remember!" Sonic lifted a finger, freezing everyone in their tracks. "We don't know for certain Infinite is the killer, so we're only bringing him in for questioning."

"I was only planning on taking tranquilizers," said Tails. "I advise we all take that precaution. Past experiences confirm that this alien is hostile."

Rouge puffed air between her lips and examined her nails. "There goes using my charm, then."

Shadow rolled his eyes and made for the door. "Let's just get this over with? The sooner we get answers, the sooner we can part ways."

Sonic stared at his back then glanced at Rouge. "Not a people person, is he?"

Rouge winked. "Can you blame him?" Then she trotted after Shadow. "Wait up, hon! You're not leaving without little me."

Sonic pushed himself up and followed after her, calling over his shoulder. "Come on, Tails! T-Pup! At this rate, he'll catch the killer before we- Oof!"

His nose collided with Rouge's back, but she didn't appear to notice, or care. Instead, the bat let out a disgruntled growl and tapped her foot rapidly on the tiles.

"What's the problem?" Sonic asked, rubbing his snout.

The shutter rattled open, letting light in from outside. Tails joined his side clutching his rifle, while T-Pup looked up and down the alley, slowly wagging its tail.

"He vanished," Rouge spat. "No patience at all! You know, sometimes I really feel he does things like this to spite me."

Sonic and Tails exchanged glances, and the former let out a sigh.

"Then I guess we'll just have to look for him too, then?" he said. "Before someone else finds him first."

Rouge paled and stepped out into the alley. "I think I'd rather prove his innocence first. We might have to split up. I'll take the western district."

...

Shadow was growing exhausted. He'd been searching for hours, and had covered the east and north parts of the Beatdrop Capital. It had been fruitless. No sign of Infinite or that pink hedgehog he'd befriended anywhere. What was he even looking for? No address, no recent clues… Even if Infinite was the killer, there was no guarantee he was even in the city. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Where would Shadow even begin to look?

The unearthly exhaustion that had been gradually plaguing him for weeks was seriously taking its toll. Running, teleporting… it was draining. The sheer concept of spreading his search out into the surrounding towns and cities was tiring. If he encountered Infinite in this state, there'd be no way he could fight back.

Where was the tiredness even coming from? Those powers?

The black hedgehog paused on the roof of a casino, ducking behind the block leading into the stairwell. The blue probing eye of a Strider Drone lit up the darkening rooftop before the robot lumbered on its path through the streets.

A strange pink hue caught Shadow's eye and he realised it was radiating off his body. A pink mist, rapidly fading away. Had he been about to randomly port himself without even realising it?! He could have ended up anywhere! He clenched his hands into fists and steadied himself against the wall. Answers… he wanted answers. And not just to the killings. Those were becoming less of a priority the more those weird powers manifested. If Infinite was the killer or not, he was finding him. And if he was, he'd be keeping him from arrest until Shadow had the answers he wanted. Infinite could control his powers. Surely he could teach Shadow how to do the same? Of course, there was the question of how willing he'd be to do so…

Shadow took a few deep breaths as he tried to regain enough strength to move on. But the little picnic tables spread across the rooftop garden were growing more and more enticing. Big enough to provide shelter and a hiding spot if he curled up small enough. Surely a little nap wouldn't hurt? Then he could continue on his search for the jackal, and maybe beat some answers out of him about those strange powers while he was at it…

...

Everything had fallen silent. Since every student and teacher had been evacuated to the surrounding towns and cities, the school had been desolate. No sign of the killer. Every day, Silver and Blaze had waited by the school, taking up lurking in the local coffee and deli shops from seven-thirty in the morning until midnight. That covered both eight in the morning and evening, and also quarter-past-eleven in the morning and night.

Nothing.

Silver was beginning to question whether he'd show at all. With his potential target outside the Beatdrop Capital, his murderous plan had been turned upside-down. If he was going to strike at all, he'd probably need a new target. Although the likelihood he was running scared was growing more and more possible.

That was, if it even was the black hedgehog.

The more Silver read about Shadow, the more he began to think he was innocent. A science experiment, running for his life. What if he'd only shown up in that house because he'd believed it would be empty for a while, and therefore a good place to hide? He'd merely been startled and fled. An unfortunate accident.

Blaze cleared her throat and Silver looked up from his computer. Not that he'd been paying it much attention, instead lost in his own exhausted thoughts. Unlike him, the lavender cat looked alert and healthy. In contrast, he had heavy rings around his eyes and quills that looked like they hadn't met a brush in days.

"It's almost eight o clock," she said. "I think we need to patrol the school again."

Silver grunted and nodded stiffly. Patrol… The school was massive, and he was still not comfortable letting Blaze out of his sight. Not just because he desperately wanted her to be innocent, but also because the killer might be lurking somewhere, looking for a target. And Silver was adamant the only way they'd be getting to Blaze would be over his dead body.

"Where shall we patrol first then?" Silver asked, stifling a yawn.

"I think this time we'll start at the college," she said. "Work our way around to kindergarten."

Silver flashed her a playful grin. "You really want to go to that pasta place again, don't you?"

"What can I say? They do good sauce."

As they stepped out into twilight, Silver fired a glance up and down the street. Silent. No one wanted to be out around the school at this hour. Just a few commuters rushing home after work, and the probing eyes of two Strider Drones strutting their way through the western district.

...

Slap. Slap. Slap.

Black fur reflected the dim light leaking in through the blinds as a pair of hands worked meticulously over the white wall. Tidy. Accurate. Organising everything down to the smallest detail. Small sheets of paper, slapped one after the other in an obsessive fashion. It was the only sound beside the near-inaudible whisper that seemed to be carried on the draft that managed to worm its way through a gap beside the window.

Slap. Slap. Slap.

'… want to do this…'

A quick twist. A boot catching on a tub of glue, sending the adhesive to the floor. Not even a mutter of protest was given as it was promptly cleared up, peeling from the ground and spiraling back into the container it had spilled from.

'Listen to… don't… to do this…'

Slap. Slap. Slap.

The last sheet of paper was in place. A quick search around the room, and everything was in place. The last thing left was the victim.

A soft glow reflected off the chrome table leg beside the deer's head. A speck of gold, almost sun-like in shape.

'… up. Wake up! … not you!'

...

Amy rubbed sleep from her eyes, not quite convinced of what she'd seen. Infinite stood facing the living room wall, slapping post-it after post-it over the painted surface.

Sleep-walking again? It hadn't been that long since she'd turned in for the night, leaving the dozing jackal on the sofa. Infinite had managed to rouse her, as he'd opened and closed various drawers before finding the stack of post-it notes in her studio.

She stood watching him for a moment. The mural was quite advanced, forming the unmistakable silhouette of a head.

"Infinite?" The fog of sleep now truly dispelled, she stepped into the living room.

He didn't respond. Muttering to himself as his hands worked quickly to place each and every post-it exactly where he wanted it.

Amy wasn't sure what to do. Did she shake him awake, or leave him to it? She clenched her hands at her sides as the quills along her back stood on end.

"Infinite, please?" she said. "You're frightening me…"

...

Rouge was convinced it was Shadow she'd seen. That run was unmistakable. And filled with purpose. Like he knew exactly where he was going. That meant he was either being chased, or doing the chasing. The lack of a drone or helicopter taking after him told her it was more than likely the latter.

The bat landed on the roof of the school and let out a small sigh. Typical. The very place that had been evacuated. What on earth was he playing at? Mainframe already believed he was the killer. If he was spotted lurking around the school then it would only serve to add more fuel to the fire.

"At least come here with someone who can vouch for you, Shadow," she groaned.

With a little hop, she landed on the path, ears trained for the slightest sound. Nothing. She tutted and moved along the path, glancing in at every window. Dark, but it was no problem for her night vision. Each classroom was as tidy as one would expect at the end of the day. Each tiny chair tucked beneath its tiny table. No one would have suspected it had once been filled with pre-school age children, making a mess with paints and glue and crayons. The room had been meticulously cleaned and arranged by the janitors to prepare it for the next school day.

Her eye wandered over the rows of windows ahead of her, following them up to the roof. Three floors. Unlike the kindergarten block, the rest of the building had to cater to various classes for the school and college-age students. Massive. If either Shadow or the killer was in there, then she'd have a hard time finding them. The tall school clock rose from the roof, its digital face lit up with the image of an old, traditional clock-face. Twenty-to-midnight.

She shook her head and rushed around the edge of the school, checking all the ground floor windows first. Nothing. She stopped beside the double doors to catch her breath and gave the building one last glance. She was going to have to get inside.

A quick crescent-kick to the control panel, and the entire thing exploded into sparks. Of course, that wasn't enough to open the doors. It would need a little hot-wiring for that.

In a matter of seconds, the doors opened, letting the bat inside. A set of wide stairs greeted her in the hallway, along with an empty reception desk and a long corridor that led towards the assembly hall.

She bit back the urge to call Shadow's name and instead turned her attention on the stairs. She'd seen all the ground floor windows, so she could rule that out. Taking steps two at a time, she raced up towards the second floor.

Various chemical smells assaulted her senses, causing her nose to crinkle. The science department. It was enough to drive her swiftly away from it, but not without glancing in at each window she passed. Empty classrooms, neatly tidied, with its intricate science equipment arranged for the next set of lessons.

Once she was away from the offending smells, she slowed down enough to have a good peek into every room. Her heart was racing, expecting at any second to encounter the killer, or the authorities. What would she even say? 'Sorry, I was looking for a friend.' What reason would either of them have to be in that school?

She grit her teeth together, turning randomly down a right bend. 'Literature and Media'. Muttering to herself, she raised herself up to peek through a door's frosted window. It was tough to make out, but it looked like a movie room. She shook it off and braced herself to continue down the corridor, but froze as the sound of rustling reached her ears.

A repetitive slap. Heavy breathing, like someone in a deep sleep.

She turned back towards the corridor she'd come from and turned her head towards the sound. The longer she listened, the more obvious it became. Someone, or something, was inside one of the classrooms.

Her heart hammered in her throat as she crept towards the door. Almost willing it to be Shadow. She didn't want to encounter the killer. She'd only come here to find her friend and scold him for taking off without her.

She stopped by the door, straining her ears to hear beyond it. That deep breathing. A flash of crimson light lit up the glass, dazzling her slightly. She blinked to clear it away, bringing the dark room into focus.

A figure straightened up, standing over a fallen body. Blood dripped from his claws, splattering the body's clothes.

He had his back to her, but she recognized him instantly. Black quills, streaked with red.

Rouge took a step back from the door, eyes wide like saucers. It couldn't be…

She shook her head, large ears flapping around. Then, in one quick motion, she was out of the window, leaving it wide open as she took off across the Beatdrop Capital, barely seeing it as the scene played over and over in her mind, stinging her eyes with tears.

...

Warm blood seeped through his fur and pads, leaving them sticky. He stood back from the fallen deer and flicked his claws a couple of times.

It needed cleaning. All of it.

That sparkle of light caught his eye again, spreading across the chrome table leg and onto the white tiles.

'Wake up!'

The whisper jolted through his head like electricity. Odd strings of code flashed across his vision, marred with glitches and errors. Amid it all, that speck of light unfolded like the petals on a daffodil.

'This isn't you!'

Shadow shook his head sharply and the world snapped into focus around him. He took in a sharp breath and jerked his head around. A classroom? He was pretty certain he'd fallen asleep beneath a picnic table on the rooftop of a casino.

He twitched his nose as he picked up a sharp, metallic smell. He flexed his fingers, sticky with something thick and unwelcome.

Blood?

He took a step back as if it would get him further away from his hand. Then his eyes fell on a fallen body. The lifeless eyes of an old deer stared back at him, wide and accusing. Blood marred the creamy fur on his chest and soaked through his waistcoat.

"What am I doing here?" Shadow's voice came out uncharacteristically wobbly.

Had he encountered the killer? Had he tried to stop him?

As he took in the room, his heart seemed to freeze in his chest. The body, the blood on his hands, the odd mural on the wall. A series of post-it notes arranged to resemble a canine's head.

The killer wasn't Infinite. That much was clear.

He couldn't stay there.

Shadow turned and rushed from the room, vaulting the open window. He landed in a squat on the floor, the impact jolting his joints. But it was only brief. In a matter of seconds, all pain was gone and he raced from the school, leaving a streak of flames behind him.

Two figures rounded the corner, right as the bell for the school rang out its haunting tune to mark 'quarter to the hour'. Shadow froze, meeting the golden eyes of a grey hedgehog. Their expressions of surprise were almost identical, the detective's eyes widening further as they trailed over Shadow's blood-stained hands.

"Well, what do you know," said the grey hedgehog. "A quarter to the hour. I guess you were right?"

The question had been aimed at the lavender cat beside him. She clutched the hedgehog's trench coat sleeve, but flames erupted around her hands as her eyes flashed with rage.

The grey hedgehog whipped his sleeve from her grip then reached inside his coat for his weapon.

Shadow didn't wait around to see what happened next. He screwed his eyes shut and willed himself into the Chaos Network.

...

It didn't matter how many times Amy cried his name. Infinite was not for stopping. The post-it pad had run empty, leaving him to forage for another. One she didn't even know she had. It had kittens on it.

One after the other, they joined his growing mural, and all Amy could do was sit back and watch, helpless. There was no way she was returning to bed and leaving him like that, muttering to himself as he set each one in place. She couldn't work out what he said. Part of her wondered if it was some other language, maybe his home tongue.

Finally, the pad of kitten notes was set on the coffee table. Neatly, to match the corner. Then, Infinite crumpled to the floor, causing Amy to let out a squeal as his head landed too close to the table leg.

She leapt from the sofa to his side and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Infinite, please," she pleaded. "Wake up!"

The one eye she could see fluttered open and fixed on her. For a brief moment it almost seemed to sparkle, and she felt his hand fasten over hers. She jerked her head towards it, where it was still placed on his shoulder.

She cleared her throat, glancing aside to avoid his gaze. "You were… sleep walking again."

He pushed himself up, following her gaze towards the wall. She hadn't really paid much attention to the mural, given it was mostly blocked out by his body. She'd been much more inclined to watch him, and when he'd collapsed she'd not had much chance to view the wall. But each post-it was set in place to form the perfect silhouette of a hedgehog's head.

The fur along Infinite's spine bristled and a low growl rumbled from his throat.

"He's framing me!" he roared, launching himself across the room towards the mural.

He lashed out at it with his claws, tearing the paper from the wall and shredding it with his claws and teeth. It fluttered around the room like confetti as he screamed.

"Why?! What do you want from me?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! Haven't you taken enough from me?!"

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder. "Infinite, calm down! You don't know for-"

He rounded on her, teeth bared. "What do you know, Pink Fr-" He cut off and his eye widened.

Amy jerked her hand back and he looked between it and her frightened face. A look of regret melted away his rage and he looked away from her, letting the tattered paper fall to the floor. Then he sank to his bottom.

"I'm sorry…" he said.

Amy shuffled closer to him and placed her hand back on his shoulder. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. All she could do was stare at the tattered paper on her floor and wall, and speculate over what on earth it meant.

"What's happening?" he muttered.

"I don't know," she said.

Infinite shook his head and took in a trembling breath. "Why…? Why can't he just leave me alone?"

...

Shadow popped back out of the Chaos Network outside Tails' workshop. Corrupted code spread out around him, vanishing into the air like steam. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mind fogged over as his vision narrowed. It all felt like a dream, but the blood on his hands maintained it definitely wasn't.

Water. He needed to find water.

The shutter was open, but only just. He ducked beneath it, careful not to touch anything. Something moved in the darkness and he met the wide, frightened eyes of Rouge. Terrified. A weapon clutched in her hand, hanging at her side. Something she'd managed to pilfer from Tails' collection. Probably the first thing she'd reached for.

He didn't care. If she shot him now, it would be mercy. For him, and for Mainframe. He steadied himself against the wall, clenching his teeth together as his mind whirled.

"Please help me," he gasped.

Rouge didn't move, but he could still feel her eyes on him. He sank down against the wall, leaving a bloody streak where his hand had rested. She knew. It was obvious she knew.

"It's me," he croaked. "It was me all along… I…" He took in a trembling breath. "What's happening to me?"

A clatter as Rouge dropped her weapon. Before he could even take another breath she was at his side, clutching him. He lifted his arms to return her embrace, but froze, his wide crimson eyes fixed on his sticky, offending fur.

"I don't know," she said. "I'm scared, Shadow."

He closed his eyes and flinched. "So am I…"

"But… I want to help you." She paused, shifting slightly. "I was looking for you."

His spine stiffened. She'd seen him? The thought made his blood turn cold. What must she think of him? That certainly explained the weapon. Tears threatened to leak from his eyes so he screwed them shut to stop them.

"I don't understand." His voice came out muffled and stuffy. "Why am I doing this? I don't… even have any memory of it."

"I don't understand either. But I'm with you, and we'll get to the bottom of it, okay?" Her voice wavered and she dug her fingers into his quills. "Please. Get us out of here. Before those GUN soldiers come back."

He nuzzled her neck, letting his arms fall over her shoulders, silently thanking her. Once again, he reached out to the Chaos Network. All that remained behind was a fleeting flurry of corrupted code, and a smear of blood over the stone wall.

...

**A/N - Was it who you were expecting?**

**I'd had that planned since before I even started work on this. I hope you enjoyed it! =D**

**The song that inspired this chapter and arc is Undeniably Real by Misanthropix if you're interested. It's an awesome song, and well worth a listen!**

**Part 2 starts this coming Saturday!**

**As always, please R&R! =D**


	36. Sleepless Chapter 13

**A/N - Thank you so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D Commence Part Two of Sleepless!**

Part Two - Judge

Chapter Thirteen

Twelve-thirty in the morning. The chime from the school's florescent clock rang it out across the eastern district of the Beatdrop Capital.

Silver leant out of the open window outside the school room, the cool night air washing over his quills. His fingers itched. The whole endeavor had made him long for a cigarette, but he'd given those things up more than a year ago.

The window had been wide open the moment they'd arrived. Either an entry point, or the exit, for the killer. Something had startled the black hedgehog, but the puzzle as to what left Silver scratching his head.

It was clearly that hedgehog. Blood had caked his hands. Caught in the act, shocked enough to vanish on the spot. He was definitely not your average Mainframer.

"There's no clear clue as to when he might strike again." Blaze's voice dragged Silver out of his reverie.

He turned his head to see her standing in the doorway to the classroom, her coat pristine. No sign she'd been poking around the body. Her gloves had been removed to avoid staining them, yet there wasn't a trace of it on her fur.

"Just that odd mural of a canine's head," she went on. "Maybe that's his next target?"

"It can't be that vague," said Silver. "There are millions of canines all across Mainframe."

"If he was caught in the act then he wouldn't have had the time to narrow it down too much. So far, that is all we have to go on."

Silver cast a defeated look into the room. Well, they had their killer. It was unmistakable. Not just some copy-cat-criminal trying to grab attention.

Blood pooled on the floor around the deer's body and caked his chest fur, but there was no sign of any damage. An autopsy would undoubtedly confirm the method as being the exact same one as the other victims. The mural was odd. A glaring clue. Yet the previous crime scene had tin cans and other kitchen equipment laid out like a replica of the east and north districts of the city. Not to mention the hands of a clock.

As soon as the 'suicides' were revealed to be murders, the killer had grown more creative. Deliberately setting up clues as if he were merely messing with them. Yet the terror was clear on that black hedgehog's face. Terror at being caught? Or was there more to this than could be seen without digging deeper than the surface?

Silver moved back into the classroom and leant back against a table near the front. The canine face stared back at him. Only one eye. The right one was left blank, almost as if the mural were incomplete.

"Can you think of any canines that might be a potential target?" Silver didn't expect a response from Blaze.

She perched beside him, her nose buried in her phone. Thumbs tapping at the touch-screen, and the glow from the screen lighting up her face.

"Off the top of my head," she said, "the only one I can think of is that jackal that got away from GUN."

Silver's ear quirked towards her and he gave her a sideways glance. "Why him? He's a maniac, right?"

"I've no idea," said Blaze. "But the first recorded 'suicide' we managed to trace back happened only a matter of days after he was broken free."

"How did you work that one out?"

"I've been looking for a pattern," she explained. "Something that could have happened that would turn a person to madness, or to act on such extremes to vent their frustrations. The ones that came up that coincided with this killer? The revelation to how GUN treat their employees. Gadget's 'Project Wreckingball' war threat. And Infinite escaping his clutches. There's been smaller, less significant news since then, but nothing I feel would merit a mad man clearly clamoring for attention."

Silver rubbed his chin as he stared at the mural. "Now that you mention it, Gadget is also a canine."

"Mhm. But he was locked up yesterday."

Silver let out a sigh and Blaze shifted beside him, setting her phone back in her pocket.

"As for the victim," she said, "I've managed to trace him back to this school using the ID I found in his wallet. He was a teacher here."

Silver lowered his head into his hand and pinched his nose. "I thought we evacuated everyone linked to this school."

"We evacuated everyone currently linked to this school," she said. "He was long retired. Taught every age from kindergarten to college. He was actually very well respected."

Silver grimaced. "We should have considered retirees."

"'Handle your rambunctious class of students throughout their various years, from kindergarten all the way to their masters degree.'" Blaze nodded and pushed herself back from the table. "We should have. The clue was right there on that video game. The problem was, we just thought it was hinting at the school."

Silver glanced up at her, catching her eye. Silent as she looked back at him. A small smirk teased the corner of her mouth and she let out a dry, single laugh.

"I guess I'm off the hook now?" she said.

He pushed himself from the table and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I think the evidence speaks for itself. I'll call the police station. Let them know they can send someone down here now to have a second look at all this."

"And I'll contact his family." Blaze let out a bitter sigh as she followed Silver from the room. "I don't think I'll sleep tonight."

"Me neither." He paused as she caught up to him. "I think the drinks are on me."

"Is that your way of apologizing for suspecting me?"

He shrugged and cleared his throat. "Maybe. Is it working?"

She fired him a playful grin. "We'll have to wait and see."

...

Computer code glitched and swirled into the air as Shadow and Rouge slipped out of the Chaos Network. The black hedgehog doubled over with his hands on his knees, gasping to catch his breath. Rouge stood trembling beside him, rotating her ears and flitting her eyes left and right. He found himself straining his ears also. No sound of any chopper blades. Just water splashing over rocks and stone.

Shadow straightened and looked out at the River Binary. Its bridge arched overhead, dripping with green algae-infested water. A rat squeaked in the shadows, snuffling around whatever garbage had been dropped that day.

"We're still in the Beatdrop Capital?" Rouge asked.

Shadow let out a sigh and leant back against the cold stone wall. He didn't have an answer. Not one that made sense. His claws still felt sticky. The fur along his fingers stood out at odd angles, and that metallic tang of blood rose off them. Less than before. He'd washed them at an outdoor tap off some alley cafe in haste. Clearly it wasn't enough. He kicked himself back from the wall to finish rinsing them off in the river.

"Why are we still in the Beatdrop Capital?" Rouge pressed.

He dragged his claws over his fur, scraping away until small tufts of it were washed downstream. It would never be enough. Nothing would. He'd never be clean.

"Shadow, answer me!"

The fine quills along Shadow's spine stood on end and he paused with his hands still in the water.

"I don't know." He stood and flicked his hands a few times in a bid to dry them. "I just feel… it's safer if we stay here."

"Safer?! They're looking for you!" Her voice wasn't much more than a hiss, but each word was like an alarm blaring.

Shadow flinched, casting a glance to each tunnel mouth. No drones. He shook his head and returned to leaning against the wall.

"They've seen me," he said. "They'll expect me to run, not stay here."

"What, so you think you're safer hiding in plain sight?" Rouge stood before him and folded her arms. "Gotta admit, it makes sense. But still, Shadow, that's a huge risk. We should bail, lie low in a sewer in Cipher or something."

Shadow dragged his hand down his face as he stared at the dripping wall across the river. Hiding… he was no stranger to that.

"It's not the right move," he said. "If I want answers, they're in this city."

"Seriously, Shadow? You're talking about finding Infinite while the whole of Mainframe are looking for you?"

"Yes," he said flatly, meeting her gaze. "What if these powers are the reason I'm doing this? I'm tired all the time, Rouge, that's not normal! I fell asleep on the roof of a casino, and the next thing I know I'm standing next to a dead body with blood on my hands!"

Rouge's jaw dropped and she stood there, speechless.

"This isn't me," he went on. "I don't kill people! What's happening to me? Unless… unless I was made to be a weapon like GUN were trying to do to him?"

"No." Rouge shook her head slowly. "Your records clearly state you were created for medical science."

"What if that was all some elaborate cover-up? What if I was made to be some mindless killer and that's only showing now?" His crimson eyes widened and he flashed a canine. "What if I put you in danger?!"

"Shadow!"

Her voice was soft yet firm, silencing him. She placed a hand on his chest and moved closer. He took a few deep breaths, trying to quell the anxiety flooding through him. In his mind he was back in that classroom again. His heart flew into overdrive. He just wanted to run.

"I won't deny I'm terrified," she said. "But you're right. It's not you. I know you, and something is very wrong. I want to help you."

"I know…"

Always there. Ever the idiot. Why could she never just run? Leave him. Look after herself. His fingers twitched at his sides as he considered pulling her into him. But his hands still felt dirty. Dirty and wet.

As if she'd read his thoughts, she trailed her hand up to his cheek and inched closer to him. "We'll get to the bottom of this, okay?"

Each soft word tickled the fur on his muzzle. He became oddly aware of the warmth from her body warring with the cold, damp tunnel. His claws trailed up her back to rest between her wings, and he lowered his head to hers. Her tiny nose almost brushed his, and he paused, taking in a sharp breath. It wasn't what he'd been going for, but did it really matter?

He closed his eyes as she trailed her fingers through his quills. But his heart lurched. All he could see was that deer, fixing him with a lifeless stare. Questioning. Accusing. It turned his blood to ice.

She pulled back, eyes no longer on him. His heart lurched again as he looked down at himself. A deep, red glow radiated from his body, casting eerie shadows throughout the tunnel. Everything looked threatening. Even the rat's squeaks seemed oddly loud, almost rhythmic.

'Run.'

He found his eye drawn to the mouth of the tunnel, where the river poured its way in. A lanky shadow bobbed along the wall, drawing closer, a probing spotlight scanning over the grass. No… the squeaking wasn't from the rat.

Shadow grabbed Rouge's arm and pulled her back into him. Pink mist flooded from his body, surrounding them both. What appeared in the tunnel wasn't entirely dissimilar to a Strider Drone. Smaller, and with long, clawed arms. Its spotlight fell on them both as the pink mist swallowed them up, throwing them both back out on the outskirts of the Beatdrop Capital.

...

The hospital ward was filled with repetitive beeping and chimes from various different machines. Each one pushed Rough's fur on end, causing his heart to race faster. He'd never liked hospitals.

He cast a glance to the larger skunk tucked under a clean, white sheet. Stable, but still unconscious. The doctors had wound electrical tape around the fraying wires to stop them damaging the linen. At least, that's what they'd said. The amount of fussing over it told Rough they had other concerns they weren't yet willing to reveal to him.

Despite Pulse City's reputation, the health care was fantastic. Given the lifestyle of the abundant space pirates and mercenaries filling the city, it had to be.

Rough twiddled this thumbs as he stared anxiously across the ward. The doctor was due to be back soon to tell him what the situation was. What they could do for Tumble. A shrill chime came from his left and he jerked his head around towards it. The drip. Its little song to let one know it had finished. Water. That was all it was. Apparently Tumble had been somewhat dehydrated, unable to drink with that helmet on. A large gap at the base of his chin made the doctors wonder if he was fed and watered through a large straw so the helmet could be left in place. Rough felt his hackles bristle at the reminder and he turned once again to see if he could spy the doctor.

There he was. A mink, chatting to a mouse nurse by the door. It wasn't for long. The nurse nodded and left the ward, and the doctor turned to make his way back to the space pirates. The dour look that crossed his face caused Rough's mouth to turn down in a frown.

"Don't like that look you're givin' me, doc," he said.

"I really wish I had better news." The mink tapped his digital ClipBoard and sighed. "All in all, Tumble is healthy. But we can't risk removing the helmet."

"Why not?" Rough scoffed.

"Because it's intricately wired into a socket in the back of his skull." The doctor pulled a chair over to perch on it. "Whatever Gadget has done, he's made sure that removing the helmet will be detrimental. It's almost sadistic in design. The scans show that the wiring goes into his brain, which allows the helmet to control his mind. It also spreads across every part of the helmet, powering the lights and the aids to his vision. If I were to guess, I'd say thermal imaging, night vision, telescopic… whatever he's programmed into it. The helmet is basically one massive computer powered by living tissue. None of us have ever seen anything like it."

Rough clenched his teeth together, more in a bid to stop his eyes filling with tears. "So what? You're tellin' me he's stuck like this?"

"Until we can find a safe means to remove it, I'm afraid so. Otherwise we risk serious brain damage." The doctor paused as a small grimace crossed his features. "He's fortunate enough the impact from your attack didn't do any internal damage."

Rough flinched and screwed his eyes shut. "So what's gonna happen to him then?"

He dreaded the answer. 'Remain a monster'. 'Mind-controlled forever.' 'A vegetable.'

"There are some computer experts in this hospital," the doctor explained. "Those who deal with bio-enhancements and robot limbs. They've offered to have a look at it and see if there's any way they can de-activate the mind-control elements, which will allow him to have a better quality of life."

Rough looked up at that. "So there's hope?"

A smile graced the mink's muzzle. "Yes. But… he'll unfortunately be stuck with the helmet until we find some way to remove it. That might turn out to be a life sentence, I'm afraid."

Rough looked over at his brother, feeling a knot tighten in his chest. So he may never see his brother's face again. The poor skunk sentenced to a life of feeding through a tube. But it was better than the thought of losing him completely.

"I know it doesn't sound nice," said the doctor. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But it's the best option we have so far. The tech team who have offered to help are fantastic, so he has the best chance at a good life, even if he is restricted to that helmet." He paused and gave a weak smile. "He'll still be himself."

"I guess." Rough couldn't look at the mink.

"I'm sorry it's not better news."

"Don't worry 'bout it." Rough tried to force a smile, but his eyes glistened with the threat of tears. "So long as he's okay…"

As he trailed off, the doctor stood up. "I'll be back soon with further information. Unless the tech doctor arrives before I do?"

"Thanks, doc." Rough watched him go then sank into his seat, dragging a hand down his face. "I seriously wanna punch that wolf…"

...

Mainframe was in an uproar, and not just the Beatdrop Capital. Citizens were bailing on the large city, fleeing to the surrounding towns and villages. Striders and Fliers fed the commotion back to Eggman's lair, spreading it across the abundant screens.

Starline leant on the control deck, beak agape as he took it all in. They were fleeing The Heartbreaker. The murderer, rampant in the Beatdrop Capital. Shadow the Hedgehog, caught red handed. Literally.

"Is there nothing we can do about this, Doctor Eggman?"

He turned to face the large human, sat twirling his mustache. His brow furrowed as he silently seethed. The whole of Mainframe knew about Shadow now. He'd be hunted, most likely killed. But as things stood, Shadow was a huge threat.

"My Stalkers are on it," Eggman muttered.

One of the solitary clawed robots plodded across one of the screens that was trained on an empty side street.

"We could send more robots after him?" Starline suggested. "Or more GUN forces?"

"I want less attention on that hedgehog," said Eggman. "I know what I'm going to do, Starline. Don't you worry about it. You focus on getting those cameras into Pulse City like you promised you would."

Starline gave a nervous laugh and adjusted his tie. "Of course, sir."

He turned to leave the computer room, casting one last glance back at the mad doctor. He'd risen himself, following the platypus from the room.

Starline cleared his throat and paused in the hallway. "What do you have planned, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"Damage control."

Starline raised an eyebrow at that, but Eggman didn't elaborate. He marched down the corridor, his beetle robots flocking around him.

Starline's fingers twitched as he watched him go. Then he tutted.

"Damage control," he scoffed under his breath. "I know a thing or two about that. Probably more than you do."

He turned on the spot, marching towards the main doors. It was still dark, but the sun had begun to push its way up through the clouds. The crimson eyes of the sentry robot cut through the shadows, fixing on Starline.

"Where are you going at this hour?" it asked.

"I have business to attend to." Starline looked back at it over his shoulder. "As you were."

The robot straightened, but didn't salute. Starline felt its eyes on his back as he strolled away from its probing sight. Once comfortably hidden from view, he flicked the hand baring his Warp Topaz. A wormhole spread open before him, leading into a pristine white corridor. He stepped through it, closing it up again behind him.

GUN facilities were all the same. Clean, white tiles with robots moseying back and forth. The sheer lack of soldiers was down to the hour alone. Once the day had begun, the place would be teeming with them.

Starline's boots clinked rhythmically as he marched through the corridor with an educated stride. He paid the signs no heed, turning to follow the corridor to the heart of the facility. He finally came to a stop at a door marked 'Judge Program'.

He knocked politely then pushed the door open. Two large, wide eyes fixed on him from behind a desk. He gave the chinchilla a small bow.

"Pardon the intrusion," he said. "My name is Doctor Starline. I am here on behalf of Doctor Eggman."

"Really?" The receptionist didn't look convinced. "He usually sends a robot."

"This time he has sent me." Starline held out a small ID card. "I need to discuss a dire matter with whoever is in charge of the Judge Program."

The chinchilla checked over his ID and nodded. She handed it back and waved a hand.

"Go on through," she said. "Only Sergent Faust is on duty at the moment."

"He'll do just fine." Starline flashed her a grin then marched on past.

A loud click came from the double doors as the receptionist released the lock. Two sets of doors, the other locked from the inside. Sergent Faust must have released the lock, because the look the large badger gave him told him he'd been informed of Starline's visit.

"Since when did Eggman start hirin' flesh and blood to do his dirty work?" Faust asked.

"Since one showed promise."

Starline leant against the wall, taking in the room. The machinery. The stench of oil and grease. In the far corner stood a towering robot. Red and black, with an Omega symbol painted on its shoulder. A hulking, powerful mass. The thick chains and double locks wouldn't have kept it confined if it had been active. And the soldiers themselves would have been like wet newspaper to those claws.

"Is that the Judge Robot?" Starline asked, nodding towards it.

"Aye. Only one we have in our facility." Faust pushed himself from his seat to join Starline's side. "That one's had some problems, but we think we've ironed out the kinks. Eggman interested now then, is he?"

"He is." Starline rubbed beneath his beak. "What problems did it have, exactly?"

"Robocidal tendencies," said Faust. "Trashed a load of Egg Pawns durin' trainin'. They weren't even its targets. It just went nuts."

"That could be an issue if it were to encounter drones in the streets," said Starline.

"Exactly. That's why we fixed it. Can't say for certain, yet, but it shouldn't be an issue no more."

"In that case, colour me interested." Starline looked the Judge up and down. "What separates it from the other Judge-grade robots?"

"Drive," said Faust.

Starline moved over to the robot and circled it as Faust went on, keeping a watchful eye on the doctor.

"No moral programming. Kinda the same as the others, but this one is programmed to get the job done, no questions asked. You tell it what to hunt and it'll do it."

"Fantastic." Starline placed a hand on the robot's oversized arm. "I have just the target for it."

"Oh?" Faust raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. You've heard of Beatdrop's serial killer, I presume?" Starline met the badger's wide, surprised eyes. "He needs to be stopped. But ordinary means will not be enough."

"You kiddin' me? He's one man!"

"One man or not, this is no ordinary Mainframer," said Starline. "Shadow can regenerate. He's almost entirely bullet proof, and he's intimately linked to the Chaos Network. We can't rely on GUN soldiers and the police force to get that hedgehog under control. We need something bigger. Something merciless. Something that cannot be stopped."

"So you want a Judge-grade 'bot to take him out?" Faust's eyes narrowed on the robot. "One question, doc. Why that one?"

"You answered that question for me," said Starline. "And as for worrying about the citizens? Beatdrop is practically evacuating itself."

"Not everyone."

"There will be significantly less casualties. And we can always issue an evacuation plan. We need to act now."

"Now?! Evacuation could take days! Weeks, even!"

"It'll take much less time once this robot is released into the city. Do you want Shadow to strike again? For all you know, you could be his next target." Starline tapped the robot on the arm. "Unleash him."

Faust rolled his eyes, his entire body twitching with nerves. "All right. Who am I to question Eggman?"

"Yes. You should never question his genius." Starline released the robot to straighten his tie. "I expect results before the day is out."

As Starline left the second set of doors, he heard an engine whir to life. A small chuckle escaped his throat, and he activated another wormhole just outside the reception area. Soon, Shadow would be easy to catch, and Eggman's regenerative technology would be put into motion. He just needed to keep a close eye on that Judge.

...

**Review Replies**

**TurquoiseTriangle - Hi, thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying the Sleepless arc! It's not over yet, so hopefully your questions will be answered in the coming chapters ;) **

**Thanks for reading, everyone! Please R&R! =D**


	37. Sleepless Chapter 14

**A/N - Sorry for the delay. Busy weekend is busy...**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Fourteen

It wasn't a matter of simply unleashing the Judge. That would have spelled 'disaster' for Mainframe. No, such matters needed preparation. Care. A laying-down of ground rules to avoid unnecessary lives being lost. The Judge program wasn't new, but it wasn't one that GUN often leapt to, either.

Starline wanted to see results before the day was out. That left them with very little time to prepare the Judge for its mission.

Faust sat on the other side of a controlled forcefield screen where the robot had been guided to. Bullet proof, shatter proof… to an extent. Despite it being set to its highest power level, the badger questioned its effectiveness should the robot fly into a rampage. The Judge program might not have been new, but this robot was definitely new to the program.

A huge holoscreen hung on the wall behind Faust, and he cleared his throat before addressing the Judge.

"I'm gonna need to run some tests before I send you out on your first mission," he explained.

"Affirmative," said the robot.

Manners, just like every other EggTech robot. So far so good…

Faust turned his head to see the screen as he brought up the first picture. A black hedgehog with red highlights in his quills.

"Is this hedgehog familiar to you?"

The Judge blinked its red eyes. "Negative. I have never seen that hedgehog before."

Faust let out a small breath and turned back to his computer. "How about this one?"

A white bat appeared on the screen, winking, holding one finger near her face.

The Judge blinked again then shook its yellow head. "Negative."

Faust wanted to say 'excellent' but bit his tongue. After all the work that had been put into the robot, letting anything slip could be detrimental.

"Well, the first Mainframer is your target." He brought the hedgehog back up onto the holoscreen. "His name is Shadow. He's proven to be a massive threat to Mainframe."

"How is this hedgehog a threat?" the Judge asked.

"He's a serial killer," Faust explained. "In the past few weeks, he's murdered at least seven people."

The Judge lowered one eyelid in a somewhat bemused expression. "'Few' translates to 'five'. The numbers you have given me dictate that he has killed on average one and a half Mainframers a week."

"The numbers were growin' closer together," said Faust.

"Threat level is medium. Awareness suggested to local vicinities while this Shadow is apprehended."

"Actually, Eggman wants this murderer brought in quickly. By any means necessary."

The Judge's eyes lit up at that, and Faust felt like he was being scrutinized and assessed. He idly checked the power level of the control screen was still set to its highest.

"That's why we're sendin' you," he went on. "He was last sighted in the Beatdrop Capital, the location of his murderous rampage. Eggman wants him dealt with before anyone else falls victim to him."

"Affirmative." The Judge groped at his side then fixed his glowing red eyes on Faust's. "I have verified that I am currently without a weapon."

"Don't worry. We'll get you kit out." Faust forced a grin. "First, I have to lay down some ground rules. The city is in the process of bein' evacuated. We don't want any unnecessary casualties. Shadow is your target. Not citizens."

"Affirmative. I shall eliminate the destruction of any targets that are unnecessary to remove for the effectiveness of this mission."

"Fantastic." Faust pushed a button on his desk and the control screen vanished. "If you could follow me? We shall kit you out with the appropriate tools. One thing you should know about Shadow is that he has strange regeneration properties. He's also bullet proof, and can access the Chaos Network to teleport to other areas of Mainframe, so he might vanish on you."

"Threat level reassessment," said the Judge. "Reassessing to 'high'. This new information suggests I am in want of a rocket launcher."

A chill ran down the badger's spine. "A rocket launcher would wreck the city. You'd knock down buildin's and cause a massacre!"

"By any means necessary, I am to apprehend this Shadow. That is my assignment."

Faust rubbed the back of his head and glanced away. "You're right. I did say that. Well, if you could keep it to a minimum, that would be appreciated."

"The target, Shadow, could prove problematic. If he is bullet proof, then mere bullets will do very little. He can also regenerate, rendering a bladed item moot. A rocket would reduce him to small, little meaty bits. He would have a hard time regenerating from that."

A chill ran down the badger's spine. That was a mental image he really didn't need. "That sounds a bit extreme."

"'Extreme' is a form of 'any means necessary'."

"Very well…" Faust grimaced and returned to his task.

He led the massive robot to the adjoining room. He scanned his hand print on the panel then stood still as the camera scanned over his right eye. The heavy doors parted with a hiss and he led the Judge into the room.

Racks upon racks of weapons adorned the walls, from shotguns to missile launchers. The Judge's glowing eyes took in each and every one, and for a fleeting moment Faust thought the robot looked ecstatic. But that was impossible. It wasn't programmed with emotions.

"You have your pick," said Faust. "Whichever weapons would be the most effective to capture Shadow."

"Capturing is irrelevant." The Judge approached the rack of heavy duty firearms and pulled down a machine gun. It turned it in its huge hands and examined it. "Shadow's threat level is too high to simply apprehend. I shall remove this threat from Mainframe 'by any means necessary'." The final sentence had been said in Faust's voice.

The badger's spine stiffened and he took a step back towards the wall. "All right then. I'll leave the hedgehog in your capable hands."

"Affirmative." The Judge fastened the machine gun to its back then pulled down a rocket launcher. "Requesting a drop in the Beatdrop Capital. Estimates that I shall arrive by this evening at the latest."

"There's a ship waitin' already." Faust waved a hand towards the doors. "I'll take you to it."

He turned from the weapons room, visibly trembling. Yet the Judge had no comment on that. He heard the soft click of metal against metal as the Judge holstered the rocket launcher, then its heavy footsteps as they echoed across the metal floor. The whine of its mechanical joints cut through the silence as each one moved fluidly, like… well… a well-oiled machine.

Despite his fears, it had all gone very well. So far. But the badger's heart was still racing. Deep down, he felt this might be the single most ridiculous extreme Eggman had ever suggested in his rule over Mainframe.

...

Amy switched the vacuum cleaner off and tucked it away in the corner of the room. Well, that was the last of the little bits of torn paper. She swiped her hand across her brow and turned back to the living room. Much better, save for the aftermath.

"Wow, you really did a number on the wall, huh?" Tangle turned from the tattered plaster to address Infinite.

"I'll fix it later," he muttered.

He lay on his back on the sofa, gazing at the kitten-themed post-it pad in his hands. Whisper leant on the back of the sofa, looking between the jackal and the wall.

"Really got a beef with that hedgehog, huh?" said Tangle.

Infinite fixed a narrowed eye on her then returned to the kittens.

Amy rejoined them and smoothed out her dress. "It doesn't matter about the wall. I'm just glad they found out who the killer is. For definite, this time. Let's just hope they catch him before they start evacuating this part of the city. I really don't want to have to move again."

"Let's hope they've definitely found the right guy, too!" said Tangle.

Amy looked up with a start. "You don't think it's Shadow? With all that evidence?"

"Yeah, sure! Unless he's just mimicking." Tangle looked much too happy for someone who had just come up with that idea. "I mean, the real Heartbreaker could still be out there."

"It's Shadow," Infinite spat. "Drop it."

Tangle rounded on the jackal. "All right, grumpy guts. So your dreams are givin' us all the answers we need, now, huh?"

Infinite sneered at her and tossed the post-it pad to the end of the sofa. "Put the pieces together, genius! You saw the news! How's that a co-incidence?!"

"He's right." Amy perched on the end of the sofa, and Infinite moved his feet up to allow her space. "That mural at the crime scene was of a canine. Infinite's was of a hedgehog. I… can't understand it, but it does seem like Shadow is trying to frame Infinite."

"But why?" Tangle folded her arms and frowned. "I mean, it'd make sense if it is the same Shadow from your world, Niffy, but we've always understood he was created here. It might not even be the same guy."

"Then how else do you explain it?" Infinite snapped. "And I warned you not to use that name…"

"Maybe it is the same guy," said Amy. "Maybe there's two Shadows."

"I doubt that, Amy," said Tangle.

"It might be possible," said Amy. "He could have come through when Infinite and Eggman did, like Infinite suggested."

"Unless he was hiding, there'd be no reason for us not to know," Tangle went on.

"I've an idea." Whisper's soft voice drew their attention. She remained leaning over the back of the sofa, but her eyes were on the tattered plaster. "What if it is our Shadow, and he's trying to get your attention?"

Infinite scoffed. "Why would he want my attention?"

"News describes a pink mist," Whisper explained. "Like yours. Sounds like you have the same powers."

Infinite quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Dude, you missed that?" Tangle offered him her computer and he took it. "It says it right here. When he showed up in DotMatrix's apartment, he vanished into a pink mist. Although not all news sites have that little bit. They kinda dusted over it."

Infinite's canines poked between his lips and his arm visibly trembled. Tangle swooped in to grab her computer before it met an unfortunate fate against the wall.

"So he's using my powers now?!" Infinite roared.

Tangle and Whisper exchanged glances, and the former tucked her computer away.

"Well, I'm late to work," said Tangle. "I'll catch up on all this later, okay?"

Before anyone could interject, she was out the door. A silence washed over them, while Amy sat feeling increasingly awkward. Whisper watched Infinite for a moment, then pushed herself back from the sofa.

"Have to go out," she said. "Need anything?"

Amy gave her a small smile. "No, thank you, Whisper."

"Shadow's head on a platter," Infinite said plainly.

Whisper let out a small laugh. "They'll find him."

"I want to find him first."

Infinite looked up at the wolf, catching her eye. It was as if some unspoken message passed between them, before Whisper finally abandoned the sofa.

"Maybe you will," she said.

Infinite grunted at that as he watched her open the door. She left the apartment with a soft 'bye!'

Amy wound her fingers together as the sudden onset of silence pressed upon her like tar. That recent discovery nagged at her, and she let out a small breath as she braced herself to say it.

"So he's using your powers?"

Infinite fixed his red-tinted eye on her. "Sounds like it."

She parted her hands in a weak shrug. "How?"

"How should I know?" he scoffed, waving at the jewel in his chest. "It's not like I handed a piece to him." He sighed and pressed an arm over his face. "It explains why I'm so freaking tired all the time. If he's using it, then he's draining me. A leech on my very existence."

"It looks like everyone has their answers now." Amy screwed her eyes shut and dug her fingers into the sofa cushion. "I'm sorry I thought it was you."

He removed his arm to look at her, but she couldn't see him. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and a soft sob escaped her throat. Something soft brushed her legs and she opened her eyes again to find his tail sprawled across them. She looked up at him, meeting his eye. Soft. Forgiving.

She leant back into the sofa, letting her hands rest on his tail. "I shouldn't have leapt to conclusions like that."

"You had your reasons," he said flatly.

"Thank you. But still-"

"'But' nothing. Forget it."

Amy nodded stiffly and trailed her fingers over his tail, watching the long fur part between them. "So are you going to go looking for him?"

When he didn't answer, she looked up at him again. He nibbled on the end of a claw, his eye wide behind his mask. She retracted her hands, muttering an apology. The worry on his face melted slightly and he swiped her hands with his tail. Taking the hint, she returned to combing her fingers through it and relaxed back into the sofa.

"I'm thinking about looking for him." Infinite paused to let out a sigh. "I'm just wondering what to do with you."

She looked up at him with a start. "What about me?"

"I can't exactly take you with me, can I?" he said. "It's too dangerous. And if he really is after me, then I can't exactly leave you here unprotected either."

"What? You think he'd come for me?"

"Probably. He's killed my friends already. Why not you, too?"

Amy's shoulders slumped. "We don't know it's the same Shadow, though, do we?" She paused as she thought over her next words carefully, smoothing his soft fur between two fingers. "What if Whisper's right and he's trying to communicate with you?"

"By murdering people?!"

She flinched back and closed her eyes.

"I know I'm not a good person, Amy. I've killed people myself. Sometimes in self defense, sometimes because I was paid. But to use my powers for that?!" He covered his face with his hands. "If he is trying to give me a message, what if it's just torment? There's been hints at who might be next laced in there. What if each one is left for me? Messing with my head, worrying me, drawing one step closer to making this personal?"

"I think you're over-thinking things," said Amy.

"Am I?" He lowered his hands to his stomach. "I know you don't want to move again, but I want you out of this city. Just take your friends and go. You're safe with them."

"What?" she gasped. "I'm not leaving you!"

"I know what I'm doing," he growled. "You're pretty handy with a hammer, and as for your friends, I trust them. But none of you would be able to fight someone with my powers. If he were to disarm you, you'd be nothing short of useless! A dead weight! Literally!"

Amy's eyes flashed and her quills bristled. "I can handle myself!"

"I know!" He groaned and covered his face again. "But this… Just leave, Amy. Run away! Leave this fight to me!"

"Are you serious?! I can't leave you like this! You're exhausted! You need me!"

"I need you safe!"

Her heart jolted and she almost left her seat. They stared at each other for a moment in the sudden silence, Amy slack-jawed and Infinite breathing heavily.

He sank back against the arm of the chair and closed his eyes. "Please, Amy…"

She huddled in her seat and looked away from him, winding her fingers into his tail. "I don't want to lose you…"

"I don't want to lose you either." He pinched the bridge of his muzzle and closed his eyes. "I can't go through that again."

A silence passed between them, heavy on the air. Amy buckled over slightly, clutching Infinite's tail in both hands.

"We'd be cities apart." Despite the silence, her voice sounded weak and quiet. "How would we even contact each other? You don't have a computer, or a phone. I wouldn't even know if you were okay." Pause. "It works both ways."

"We'd find a way."

She screwed her eyes shut. "Just please… Can you think about this before rushing into anything?"

"I have been thinking about it."

So he'd already been warring with this? How long for? She shook her head as tears began to break forth. His tail slipped from her hands as the entire sofa shifted, and she felt him loop an arm over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I've tried to come up with something else, but this really is the only way." He paused as he let his head rest on hers. "I don't like it."

She let herself lean into him and wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "Neither do I."

The room fell into silence again. Another heavy silence, weighing down on them, broken only by their soft breathing and the steady pulse of Infinite's heart against her ear. Amy finished clearing tears from her eyes and stared across at the tattered wall. The mural… she frowned at the peeling plaster as she searched her mind for why that suddenly seemed significant.

A hedgehog's head… a canine… it all swirled together in her mind mixed with the soft heartbeat against her ear. Her own picked up as it all made sense to her. She barely even noticed Infinite's claws brushing up and down her arm.

"Infinite?"

"Hmm?" The noise was barely more than the breathy response of someone who'd been drifting off to sleep.

"What if… what if you're his next target?"

Infinite released her as he pushed himself up. His expression was unreadable as he frowned at the far wall.

"Huh," he said. "I hadn't considered that."

"It makes sense," she said. "You're pretty difficult to kill. Shadow's method would… well…"

"Oh, it'd kill me with bells on."

Amy grimaced as she tried to dispel the awful image forming in her mind. "Well, Shadow left a mural of a canine's head… yours was of a hedgehog." Her voice began to waver and she brushed her quills back from her face. "Whisper's idea might be partly right. It might be a way of communicating, but not what she thought it was. Your powers are clearly linked. So what if the Phantom Ruby is trying to warn you?"

He tilted his head to scratch his cheek, letting out a thoughtful grunt. "It's always a possibility. If I die, then it'll fade from existence." He paused and let out a dry chuckle. "I guess I'll just have to get one up on him then, won't I?"

"Then if I'm not his target, I can help you track him down, right?" She gave the jackal a hopeful smile.

"Oh, no." Infinite looked down at her and shook his head, causing her smile to melt into a frown. "My plan's not going to change. You're still leaving this city, and I'm still gonna look for him." A sly smirk twisted his lips. "But I'll find him first."

...

The shutter was still open when the two soldiers returned to the workshop. After two hours, Sonic had finally managed to scrub the blood stain from the wall, although it was still clear it had been there. A quick DNA check had confirmed it didn't belong to either Shadow or Rouge, but the gentleman who'd been murdered in the school earlier that night.

Tails rummaged about around his workshop, occasionally glancing at his computer as he took note of all his inventions and weapons. Sonic leant against the wall beside T-Pup, tapping his foot as they watched the fox move back and forth along the weapon rack.

"I hate to rush you, bud," said Sonic. "But the longer we spend here, the less chance we have of tracking down Shadow and Rouge."

"I need to check if they've taken anything first," Tails explained. "That way we know what to prepare ourselves for."

"Noticed anything?"

Tails looked down at his computer again and nodded. "A laser pistol is missing. I'm going to guess one of them has taken it."

"Probably the bat."

"My thoughts exactly." Tails scratched behind his ear as he took in the massive row of weapons. "So far that's all I've noticed, and I've checked over this thing twice now."

"Then I think it's safe to say that's all they've taken." Sonic grinned down at T-Pup who returned it with a happy pant. "At least they've not taken your Tornado, eh?"

"They don't need it."

Tails pocketed his computer and grabbed his tranquilizer rifle from where it lay propped against the wall. Much to Sonic's surprise, he exchanged it for a much larger weapon. One formed up of two long shafts with an electromagnetic coil between them.

Sonic's eyes widened and he pushed himself back from the wall. "You're takin' a railgun?! We're not shooting down battle planes, Tails!"

"We know that Shadow can regenerate, and is almost entirely bullet proof," Tails explained. "Sure, he isn't immune to projectiles, but he can take some hefty punishment. A railgun packs enough power to take him out of action before he causes any more damage than he already has."

Sonic brushed his quills back from his face. "I get you, bud, but you met Shadow. He was convinced Infinite was the killer. Until now, we've had zero indication it was Shadow at all."

"He could have been putting on a front."

"I dunno…" Sonic dragged his hand over his muzzle as he stared at the wall in thought. "Something makes me think there's more to this than meets the eye."

T-Pup gave an affirmative yap.

"We did agree that once Shadow and Rouge left here, we'd be tracking them down again," said Tails. "It is our job after all."

"I know that," said Sonic. "But now a massive spanner has been thrown in the works, and it doesn't settle well with me to hand someone over who might actually be innocent. The whole of Mainframe would believe he was a cold blooded killer, and there'd be no solid facts to back that story."

Tails lowered his railgun and narrowed his eyes at Sonic. "So you don't believe Shadow is the murderer? Even though he was found at the scene of the crime, and trailed that deer's blood back here into my workshop?"

"Oh, I believe he killed the guy," said Sonic. "I just don't understand why. I mean, what if he's not aware he's doing it? He said himself those powers he shares with Infinite are completely new and unpredictable. Isn't it possible he's being used as some kind of puppet?"

Tails stared at him for a moment longer as he thought over Sonic's words. The hedgehog shifted against the wall, forcing himself to maintain eye contact.

Finally, Tails spoke. "You think Infinite's controlling him? That he's the real murderer behind all this?"

"I'm not saying that at all. That's entirely speculative. I'm wondering if the powers have something to do with it."

"That's also speculative."

"Yes, but that way no one else dies!"

"Until he strikes again."

Sonic clenched his teeth and snapped his glare off Tails to the open shutter. "Look, let's not do anything hasty. We'll round up Shadow and question him, okay? Rouge too. No one gets killed until someone is proven guilty of murder with intent."

"And what about Infinite?"

"We leave him." Sonic shrugged. "He's not shown himself for weeks. We can't just assume he's controlling Shadow. We don't know for a fact that Shadow's isn't doing this consciously. He might be a blood thirsty serial killer for all we know, but the fact is we don't." He paused and ruffled his quills between his ears. "I just don't want to kill him, Tails. Not if he's actually innocent."

Tails nodded and propped the railgun against his workbench. "And what about the 'clues' left at the crime scene? I still think they're pointing to his next target."

"A canine?" Sonic inclined his head on one side in thought.

"Canine. Vulpine. We're all pretty similar."

Sonic's ears pricked up and he nodded slowly as he watched Tails strap the railgun over his back. He didn't look scared, or worried. Sonic had to wonder, without all those emotions warring for centre stage, Tails was probably thinking quite rationally.

"All right," said Sonic. "We'll take precautions. But we are not going to shoot on sight. Are you understanding me?"

"I understand you perfectly." Tails reached for a tranquilizer gun and tossed it to Sonic, who caught it flawlessly. "It just makes sense to go in armed to the gills."

"We don't have gills," Sonic joked.

Tails ignored that statement and reached for a second tranquilizer gun. Then he fastened a few grenades over the strap holding his railgun.

Sonic sighed and holstered his weapon. "You might wanna make sure you're also carrying the GUN emblem before we get stopped by drones and GUN solders."

Tails didn't look up, too occupied with his explosives. "Noted."

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	38. Sleepless Chapter 15

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Fifteen

The sky was rapidly darkening. Heavy black clouds spread across it, bringing with them the threat of rain. The air was heavy and humid, enough so to cause Sonic to stop by a vending machine for a quick drink.

The blue hedgehog downed an iced tea with one thirsty gulp after the other, then swiped his glove across his muzzle as he turned towards his twin-tailed friend.

"Want some?" he offered.

Tails glanced back at him over his shoulder then checked over his weapons. "I think we need a higher vantage point."

"That's a 'no'," Sonic muttered as he sipped more of his drink. He joined Tails' side and scanned the busy street. "I think you're right. A better view of the city might give us a good starting point."

"And we might see Shadow among the crowd," said Tails. "Although I doubt he'd remain in such plain sight. It would be suicide. I think we should aim for the evacuated areas."

"Agreed."

Sonic didn't need telling twice. He tossed the empty bottle into the nearest trash can, eliciting a small beep from it. It opened up and swallowed the bottle as Sonic zipped past it. He raced up the side of a skyscraper and came to an abrupt stop on its garden rooftop. From his new perch on the top of the safety rail surrounding it he could see across most of the business district.

The familiar thrum of a propeller reached his ears as Tails descended beside him with T-Pup in tow. The fox perched beside Sonic and peered out at the city.

"A little higher than I'd been thinking," said Tails.

"Yeah, but look at that view."

Sonic waved across the city. Rising up from the midst of all the towering buildings was the blinking antenna of the Beatdrop Capital's Chaos Node. Well below them, cars raced back and forth like little beetles along narrow tracks, ignoring the hundreds of colourful Mainframers as they went about their day.

"You're right though," said Sonic. "It would be impossible to see Shadow from way up here. But over there looks pretty evacuated."

Tails followed his eye towards the Western district. It was the first area to be evacuated. Few people wanted to stick around after the murderer had been sighted in that very area, lurking around the school almost every child in the Beatdrop Capital attended.

The fox made a thoughtful noise. "It's entirely possible he's still there. If he's wanting to hide out of sight, then return to the scene of the crime. What better place to hide than in plain view, when everyone else would assume you'd have fled elsewhere?"

"You're almost echoing my thoughts there, bud." Sonic gave his friend a playful grin. "Race ya!"

With that, Sonic kicked off from the edge of the skyscraper and rushed down the vertical drop. A few squeals of surprise rose up from the street as the blue blur took off at the speed of sound down the busy main street.

Within seconds he was by the school, casting his eye up and down the empty street as he tapped his foot impatiently. Before too long, Tails descended beside him, his weapon ready.

"See anything from up there?" Sonic asked.

Tails gave a curt nod. "I spied a suspicious individual two streets from here."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Shadow?"

"No. Infinite."

"Really?" Sonic didn't mask his surprise. "Which way?"

Tails pointed his gun towards the small street leading off beside a bistro, its neon 'open' light as dull as its empty windows.

Sonic dashed away from Tails, leaving the fox coughing in his dust cloud.

...

The quiet street lay cast in murky light from the street lamps as they cut through the stormy air. Infinite's footsteps echoed in an eerie way, sounding oddly loud in the ghost town of a city. At least, that's how it seemed. Not a Mainframer in sight. All the windows of the houses and tower blocks were dark, not so much as a flutter of a curtain to signal any life. On his right, the digital face of the school's clock rose over the low rooftops of the terraced houses. Bright and clean, ringing out the hour for five in the afternoon. Its chime, clearly meant to be jovial, was haunting. It sent a chill down the jackal's spine and he fought the urge to hug his arms around himself. After the fifth and final bong, the street was plunged back into silence.

Infinite turned away from the clock and scanned the street. A lone crisp packet fluttered along the gutter, whipped up by the gentle breeze.

He tutted. "It's going to take me a long time to check all these empty buildings."

"Looking for something?"

Infinite almost leapt out of his skin. Canines bared, he spun around to face the speaker. A blue hedgehog leant against the wall of a news shop, dusting down his GUN jacket. Infinite let out a low growl. He recognized that hedgehog.

"I mean, you must be, right?" Sonic went on. "Either that or you're lost. This is a pretty strange place to go for a walk."

The jackal's fur bristled down his spine and he balled his hands into fists. Sonic didn't seem to care. He pushed himself back from the wall and took a couple of steps towards Infinite.

"How's Amy?" he asked. "I haven't seen her since I left you in her care. Kinda expected you two to stick together."

Infinite met his eyes, his lip twitching as he braced himself for the hedgehog to reach for the weapon strapped to his back. The air filled with a dull, repetitive thrum and Sonic's fox companion slowly descended beside him. Unlike Sonic, however, Tails had his weapon at the ready. Grenades adorned the strap crossing the fox's body. The weapon in his hands was one Infinite was unfamiliar with. Electricity hummed between two round shafts of metal, and he held it level with his eye. The tin dog accompanying him yapped away, stopping only when Sonic shushed it.

"So where is she?" he asked Infinite.

"Safe." It was all Infinite had to say. Sonic didn't need to know any more details.

He didn't. No one did.

"Well, so long as she's safe." Sonic took a step towards him and raised his hands. "Look, I know we've not got off on the right foot-"

A deep hum filled Infinite's ears as the Phantom Ruby flared to life, surrounding his body in a red haze.

Sonic's eyes widened and he froze, lifting his hands higher. "Whoa, whoa! I'm not here to start a fight!"

Infinite nodded towards the fox soldier. "Tell that to your friend."

Sonic looked over his shoulder and sighed. "Tails, put the railgun away."

"That would be unwise," said Tails. "We know he's volatile."

Infinite growled as the Phantom Ruby intensified. He'd show that fox the true meaning of 'volatile'. Glitched pixels flickered across Infinite's body, and he raised his hand, creating a deep thrumming noise in the air. The railgun sparked with electricity as its own hum joined that of the Phantom Ruby. A buzzing, static, whirring noise that grew with intensity as the weapon charged.

Sonic's entire body tensed as he braced himself to lunge at Infinite. The jackal looked between the soldiers and their pet. The concern and determination in Sonic's green eyes. The concentration on the fox's face. The whine from the robot dog as it paced back and forth along the wall.

Amy's friends. All three of them.

"Look, Infinite! We're not here to fight!" shouted Sonic.

It wasn't the hedgehog's words that did it. Infinite sighed and lowered his hand, letting the Phantom Ruby fizzle out. The electrical hum died out with it and Tails lowered the railgun slightly.

Sonic let out his own sigh and visibly relaxed. "Thank goodness for that. I thought this city was about to witness yet another bloodbath."

"What do you two want?" Infinite growled.

"We came here looking for Shadow," Sonic explained. "My guess is that's why you're here, too?"

"You could say that…"

Tails propped his weapon on his shoulder so it was still pointed in the jackal's direction. "Vague answers are not going to help your case right now."

"What case?" Infinite spat.

"It'll take a long time to explain," said Sonic. "But let me make one thing clear - no one here is accusing you of these murders, but you're not exactly off the hook just yet."

Infinite's eye flashed with Phantom Ruby energy. "Shadow is the murderer!"

"Let me explain!" Sonic raised his hands again and let out a flustered sigh. "Shadow was with us for a while before we discovered he killed that retired teacher. Prior to that he was demonstrating powers very similar to yours. It won't be long now before people realise that and link the two of you together." Sonic paused as Infinite's muzzle twisted in a sneer. "So let me guess. You've already realised this, and you're out looking for him?"

Infinite snorted. "You're a smart hedgehog for a mindless GUN drone."

"I'll take that as a back-handed compliment." Sonic flashed him a boyish grin. "Now the awkward ice is broken, what do you say we pool our skills and look for Shadow together? More ground covered."

Infinite opened his mouth to explain to Sonic how that would not be happening even if he begged, but was cut off as a helicopter's chopper blades reached his ears. A primal response deeply trained into him from his escape from GUN took over as he visibly tensed and jerked his head towards it. But the helicopter wasn't interested in him. It hovered several streets away, stationary as it dropped a hulking robot on a long chain. It swung back and forth like a pendulum, risking clipping the billboards off the rooftops surrounding it.

"What in the world is that?" Infinite gasped, moreso to himself.

Tails lowered his railgun and moved over to Sonic. "If it's what I think it is, I'd say it's a massive overreaction."

Sonic gave his friend a sideways glance. "And what exactly do you think it is?"

"A Judge."

The fox's lack of emotion in his reply carried enough sinister air to chill the entire street. Infinite and Sonic stared down at him for a moment before turning back towards the dangling robot.

Tails holstered his weapon over his back. "If it is, then it looks like this city is going to see a bloodbath like never before."

"What exactly is a Judge?" Infinite asked.

"The last straw," said Sonic. "Killing machines. Eggman keeps them handy for when he needs to apprehend a wildly dangerous criminal."

"Plural," added Tails. "They're used to deal with gangs or terrorist groups. Not lone serial killers."

"Eh." Sonic shrugged at Infinite. "He might have sent one after you if you'd caused much more damage."

Infinite tutted at that, keeping his lone eye on the hedgehog.

"But I don't get it!" Sonic waved at the helicopter. "Why not wait until the entire city is evacuated first before dropping a merciless machine right into the thick of it?"

"Like I said. Massive overreaction," said Tails. "Let's just hope they can evacuate it in time."

Infinite watched as the robot was lowered into the streets, eventually vanishing behind the towering skyscrapers. So it had been unleashed to search for Shadow? Then he and that robot had something in common. However, if it got to Shadow first, and it was as deadly as Tails said it was, then it would inevitably kill the black hedgehog. Then Infinite would never get his answers - how he was using his power, why he was trying to frame him… Infinite balled his hands tightly into fists. Then he tapped into the Chaos Network, keeping his sights on where the helicopter was still lowering its murderous cargo. Strings of binary swirled around him and in a flash he was standing atop one of the skyscrapers.

Wind from the helicopter's blades whipped up his fur, sending loose strands from his dreadlocks into his face. He swiped them aside, frowning down at the massive robot. It clutched onto the chain with one set of massive metal claws, each one glinting in the streetlight. The other was clutching a machine gun. Its glowing eyes were on the street below, masked behind a yellow head that looked almost out of place on its red and black body. Infinite could just make out the 'omega' symbol on its left shoulder, slightly obscured by what he hoped wasn't a rocket launcher.

Everything about the robot felt familiar. Like he'd seen it before. His lips pulled back from his canines, and he felt an odd tremble deep inside his body. He had seen it before. It was, yet again, another similarity to Mobius. Yet it was hunting Shadow… so it couldn't be his ally, could it?

"Whew!" Sonic appeared behind him, coming to an abrupt halt on the lip of the building, and almost eliciting a yelp of surprise from the jackal. "I never thought I'd say this to anyone, but wow, you're fast!"

Infinite let out a low growl and turned his sights back on the Judge. "You just can't leave me alone, can you?"

"Well, the tables have turned a little." Sonic folded his arms and shifted his weight to one leg as he watched the robot swinging mere feet above the road's surface. "If that robot is hunting Shadow, then I'd personally like to get to him before it does."

"Likewise."

"So it makes sense to team up, eh?" Sonic flashed him a grin. "It'll take at least three of us to stop that thing. I mean, I'm fast, sure, but I don't really want to take my chances fighting that guy solo."

"Well I could handle that guy solo just fine," Infinite growled. "I have no intention of teaming up with you or your barking tin can."

As if on cue, the fox and his robot dog descended behind them. Infinite fired them a glare over his shoulder then turned back to the events below.

The robot released the chain and dropped onto the tarmac with a mighty clang. Small cracks shot across the surface of the street, but it didn't care in the slightest. It turned its head left and right a couple of times, then, holding its machine gun high, it marched away. One clanging footstep after the other, along the wide road towards the heart of the city.

Infinite watched it go, then lifted his head towards the direction it was headed. If it weren't for his mask, his ears would have drooped to the sides of his head.

"Oh man," said Sonic. "It's heading into residential territory. Tails, is that area evacuated?"

"Negative," said Tails.

Infinite's fur bristled and it took all his willpower not to leap off the skyscraper after the robot. Amy was fine. He'd packed her suitcase himself, much to her arguments. Then he'd seen her out of the door. She was clear of that area of the city. Wasn't she?

He flicked his tail and, without so much as a glance back at the two GUN soldiers, he leapt from the building. Crimson energy flared around him and he leveled out, soaring after the Judge. He swerved to the side as a Strider Drone emerged from a narrow side street, its blue eye taking in the Judge and Infinite before turning towards the residential district.

The jackal swooped down after it, and landed on all-fours between the Judge and the Strider. The Judge's red eyes fixed on Infinite, emotionless.

"Citizens must clear a path," it said.

"Oh, I'll clear a path, all right," Infinite scoffed. "You'll wait until everyone has left this city, or I'll remove you from it!"

Sonic, Tails and T-Pup landed behind the Judge, but its attention remained on Infinite. Its eyes narrowed and it adjusted its grip on its weapon.

"A barrier of soft warm lifeforms cannot stop me," it said. "If you will not move, then I shall have to move you."

It lifted its machine gun and it whirred to life, spraying out a flurry of bullets. Infinite zipped to the side, flinching as several of the bullets struck his left arm and tail. He shook it off as his regeneration kicked in, and he leapt at the Judge, claws raised. Crimson energy surrounded his hands and he lashed at the robot. It stepped aside, swinging its arm in a wide arc towards his jaw. Infinite grunted as his head snapped back from the force and he careened backwards into a concrete wall. The bullets left his body, bouncing off the sidewalk and into the gutter.

The Judge leveled its weapon at the dazed jackal and its ominous whirring cut through the air. It let fire, arcing away from Infinite and into the air as a blue swirling blur bounced off the underside of the robot's arm. It swung it back down, keeping the gun firing. Concrete and tarmac exploded as it was torn up by the machine gun, and several feet away the Strider Drone crumpled to the floor. Its bulb shattered with the sound of a thunderclap, drawing the Judge's eye.

"Other robots are judged inferior," it said as it turned back to its assailants. "As are soft, squishy lifeforms."

The Judge aimed its machine gun back at Infinite, but jerked its head to the side as an electrical hum filled the air. Tails stood in the middle of the road, aiming his railgun at the robot.

"Lifeform judged as hostile. Calculating appropriate detainment methods."

It strafed to the side as Tails' weapon fired. A huge beam of electricity propelling a small projectile. Glass shattered around them as it cut through the ground floor window of a lawyer's office. The Judge doubled back, swinging its arm around towards Tails. He wasn't fast enough to dodge it. Blood and spittle flew from his mouth as he was sent soaring into a brick wall.

"Tails!" Sonic screeched.

T-Pup bounded away from him, barking and whimpering, to join its handler's side.

"You shall not keep me from my mission." The robot straightened and turned towards the two still standing. "The Judge reigns superior."

Infinite threw up a shield as more bullets rained across the street. They bounced back, pelting the Judge's shiny metal hide. There seemed to be no end to its bullets. Surely the ammunition belt would run out soon enough?

Glitched pixels fluttered around Infinite's body and across the shield, causing it to falter. A few stray bullets got through, hitting the wall and clipping his whiskers. He let out a hiss and keeled over slightly, straining to keep the barrier up. The blue hedgehog wasn't faring much better. Sonic struggled to find a way in as the robot fired its weapon left and right, keeping him at bay.

Infinite narrowed his eyes at the robot as he tried to work out some means to disable it. Unable to get in close, he wasn't left with very many options. The bullets were firing out at such a speed he wouldn't even have time to slip into the Chaos Network to warp himself into striking range. The belt whizzed across the robot's torso, feeding each bullet into the machine in a blur that rivaled Sonic's spin dash attacks.

Infinite started slightly as an idea struck him. Of course. The ammunition belt. With a flick of his hand, the belt began to warp, turning each bullet into a fat slug. The machine sputtered as the slimy creatures jammed up the gears and clogged the feed holes. The robot glared down at its weapon and the slugs trailing slime over its metallic coat, then tossed the weapon aside.

It was all the opening Infinite needed. A smirk spread across his muzzle and he flashed towards the Judge in a spray of binary. He raised his hand, forming a crimson scimitar.

"I used to make a fine living selling robot scraps!" He raised the blade and brought it down towards the Judge's yellow head.

It raised its right hand, catching Infinite's wrist. The jackal cursed loudly and tugged his arm back, but it was held firmly in the Judge's metal claws. As he tried to boost his physical strength with the Phantom Ruby, the scimitar vanished in a pink haze. Infinite found himself beginning to pant, but not just out of exhaustion. His heart pounded like a jackhammer. His strength was failing, and there was nothing he could do. Without it, he was just a weak, pathetic jackal hanging from a killer robot's fist like a fish out of water.

He met the Judge's narrowed eyes. Unyielding. Fearless. It had its prey. It didn't care about anything else. The barking tin can. The hedgehog it swatted away like a pesky fly. Then that same arm came around and struck Infinite so hard in his chest he flew from its grasp with an agonized yowl. Pain exploded along his arm and through his ribcage. His entire body seemed to shatter like glass as he struck the concrete wall. The last thing he saw was the enraged eyes of the Judge and its gigantic fist as it smashed into the side of his head.

...

The Judge took a step back, its heavy boots splashing in the puddle of blood forming on the sidewalk. It turned its head from side to side, looking over the three fallen lifeforms. All motionless, save for the small robot dog.

It leapt before the Judge, barking in an enraged frenzy, its lamp-like eyes cutting through the stormy haze forming on the air. Harmless.

The Judge stooped to retrieve its weapon. Bullets lay scattered across the street where the slugs had fallen. It collected each and every one, fastening them back to the ammunition belt. Then it gave the machine gun a once-over. Unharmed. Not a gastropod in sight.

The large robot turned its sights back onto its target destination. Another skulking robot crept across its path in the distance on lanky legs, claws tucked beneath it like a primitive reptile. The Judge narrowed its eyes.

Yap yap yap!

The dog was at its feet. The Judge glared down at it, watching the pathetic thing as it hopped back and forth, barking as if it were desperately trying to convey something. Mainframe had no space for such a feeble creation. The Judge aimed its machine gun and fired, silencing the robotic canine permanently. Then it turned and marched towards the residential district.

...

"I can't believe he's making you leave!" Tangle leant over the suitcase she'd taken charge of, her violet eyes wide. "I mean, why?! The serial killer's been found! You don't need to leave!"

Amy looked between her two friends and shrugged. "What else am I meant to do?"

"Stay! We've already helped you move once!" Tangle turned to the wolf beside her. "Say something, Whisper!"

Whisper leant against the wall beside the train station door, her mouth turned down in a frown. She opened one eye to fix on her friends, but said nothing.

Tangle let out an exasperated roar and threw her hands in the air. "I'd just gotten used to this city!"

"You don't need to come with me," said Amy. "Besides, it's not permanent. We'll come back once the Heartbreaker is caught."

"Yeah, but-"

"They're also evacuating the city." Whisper's voice was barely audible, but Tangle and Amy just made it out.

"I guess," said Tangle.

"Think of it as a vacation." Amy looked over her shoulder, back towards the street leading up to her apartment. "Although… I can't say I'm looking forward to it."

"I still don't understand why he won't just let us help," said Tangle. "It's way more exciting being in the thick of it all. I hate waiting on the sidelines!"

Amy frowned down at her feet for a moment. Tangle wasn't the only one who couldn't stand being on the sidelines. Helpless. But none of them would be watching it. They'd be left in the dark, not knowing what was going on. Not knowing which team was winning. She pulled her phone from her pocket. Her train ticket was still on the screen, booked only an hour before. Right before she'd asked her friends to meet her at the station. Destination - North Cipher. Another city. Miles away from the Beatdrop Capital. Miles outside where Infinite would be searching for a hedgehog that probably wanted to kill him. Ordinarily she wouldn't be worried, but in the state he was in, could he actually fight Shadow, someone who had demonstrated similar powers to him?

"I mean, you're great with a mallet!" Tangle waved a hand towards Amy, dragging her back into the conversation she'd accidentally tuned out. "And I can fight! I'm agile! I can get a few punches and kicks in, maybe even bounce you guys off my tail like a slingshot! I dunno what Whisper will do, though, I've never seen her fight." The lemur nudged Whisper, causing her to crack a blue eye open again. "Maybe you could document it all, eh? A fight for the ages! I bet that would sell to a few mainstream papers! It'd even get you on the news!"

Whisper tugged the collar of her coat up, hiding a smile. "I guess…"

"See?! She's up for it!" Tangle waved an arm at her friend as she turned back to Amy. "I say we ditch this suitcase back at your apartment and go find our jackal friend! I'm sure he'd appreciate-"

"Tangle…" Amy wound her hands together and forced herself to look the lemur in the eye.

Tangle blinked back at her and inclined her head on one side. Then she deflated and let out a sigh.

"You're gonna say 'no', aren't ya?" she said.

Amy stared back at her, biting her lip. Tangle opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off as Amy finally gave her answer.

"Tangle, I'm worried sick!"

Tangle blinked a few times. "Eh?"

"That killer is still out there," Amy went on, "and here I am, running away, while Infinite tries to find him. Infinite isn't even at his full strength right now!"

Whisper shifted against the wall to look at her friend, both eyes partially open while her mouth formed an 'o'.

"I want to help him," said Amy. "But I'm worried I'll just get in the way… and I can't put you two in danger either. I'm stuck! What do I do? Let you two go to North Cipher without me so I can try and help him… or just get on that train and leave him to it?"

Tangle leant on the suitcase again and spread her hands. "Well, that train leaves in, like, five minutes. So you don't have very long to decide."

"Urgh!" Amy stamped her foot so hard it sent shockwaves up her leg. She shook it out and joined Whisper leaning against the wall. "I just wish this would all blow over…"

"It will," said Whisper softly.

Tangle flopped back against the wall beside them. "Easy for you to say, you live for stuff like this."

Whisper shrugged her shoulders and lowered her muzzle behind her collar.

Amy rubbed a hand down her face, letting out a groan. "What do I do?"

"Put it this way," said Tangle. "If you don't grab that suitcase and run for the train in the next thirty seconds, you're gonna miss it. And sure, you can catch another one. But that's another twenty-five credit ticket one way to North Cipher, and you'll probably be late to check in at your hotel."

"And you'll lose your deposit," Whisper added.

Tangle nodded at that. "So that kinda decides for you."

"Urgh, you're right." Amy grabbed her suitcase and moved it onto its wheels.

"So we're getting the train?" Tangle's voice was thick with disappointment.

"Nope." Amy turned from the station and began to wheel her suitcase towards the crossing.

"What? Are you serious?"

Whisper trotted to her side. "Amy, think about this."

"I am." Amy smiled up at her, but it failed to mask her nerves. "I'm going back to my apartment, and then I'm going to try and track down Infinite. You two are going to catch that train. I know you can make it."

Tangle's jaw dropped and she shook her head. "Na-ah! If you're puttin' your life at risk, then so are we!" She gestured between herself and Whisper.

Amy opened her mouth to retort then stopped herself. "You're just going to come along anyway, regardless of what I say, aren't you?"

"You can hammer me with your mallet, I'll still fight." Tangle folded her arms. "I'll be concussed, but I'll fight."

Amy shook her head and sighed, but a smile still spread across her muzzle. At the end of the day, wasn't that exactly what she was doing? Showing up at a fight after being told to flee?

"All right." She stood up straight and beamed. "Do what you do best then, Tangle. Search for all reports of Shadow's last known sightings. We'll track him down that way. You too, Whisper."

The lemur lifted her hand in a salute, while Whisper merely nodded.

Amy turned and headed back to her apartment, wheeling her suitcase behind her, while Tangle rambled on about a 'plan of action'. Amy didn't even look back towards the station. She felt a lot lighter, but a sense of dread welled up in her stomach. Sooner or later, if things went as she hoped, they'd be facing off against another version of the Phantom Ruby, and she'd already seen what it was capable of…

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	39. Sleepless Chapter 16

**A/N - This is a bit of a filler chapter after the intensity of the previous one. I hope you enjoy it =D **

**Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Sixteen

Rain hammered against a thin metal sheet, a constant static hum like white noise, interrupted every now and then by scrapes and thuds. Scrapes of claws over metal, and the thud of heavy footsteps. Every now and then, two glowing lamps would cut through the darkness. A challenge, or a threat. Whatever it was, every little noise, every movement, every light, caused pain to explode through Infinite's head to the rhythm of his racing heart. His fur was sopping wet as the rain pooled around him on its journey to the gutter, snaking around the rubble, whisking away dust and grime and pasting it over every inch of his body it could reach. Yet he couldn't move. His limbs were like lead, and something heavy pressed down on his torso. All he could do was watch the hulking shadow as it marched towards the city. Gun raised. Rockets at the ready. Smoke swirled up from the wreckage left in its wake. A ruin of brick, mortar and steel.

He couldn't leave it like that. He had to do something. Stop that maniac robot before it caused any more damage. Infinite flailed as he tried to sit up, but that heavy weight shoved him right back down into the rubble. His good eye snapped away from the smoking city to fix on his assailant. Where he expected to find something akin to an iron beam he instead found a boot. A red and black shoe attached to a red and black leg. His eye narrowed as it trailed up towards the glaring crimson eyes of a black hedgehog.

Emotions swirled in Infinite's mind from anger to fear to blind rage.

"You…" Infinite growled.

No words came from Shadow, but his expression said enough.

"So what?" Infinite spat. "Have you decided to finish what you started?"

Silence.

"You took everything else from me," Infinite went on. "Everything I had left. Why did you bother to let me live? Why not just send me with them?!" More silence. Infinite's fur bristled down his spine and he flashed his canines as he bellowed, "Answer me!"

Rain continued to fall, hammering off the lopsided metal sheet beside the jackal. Drops trickled down Shadow's spines and face, but he didn't care. Stoic and silent as ever.

"That thing is looking for you," Infinite said, firing a glance towards the robot. "It'll turn that entire city upside down until it finds you. People will die. Don't you care?" A dry chuckle escaped his throat and he narrowed his eye at the hedgehog. "Of course you don't care. You're a heartless murderer! But I'm not about to let you destroy what I've tried to build up here in Mainframe!"

Shadow shifted, pressing his heel into Infinite's ribs. The jackal grimaced, but he didn't take his eye off the hedgehog. Shadow lifted a hand as red smoke surrounded his body, flaring up with the intensity of a roaring fire.

Infinite's heart leapt and his ear flicked towards the city. A deep whistling noise, fading off into the horizon. Then screams. An explosion. He jerked his head towards it, flailing as he tried to force himself upright against Shadow's weight. His heart sank as the entire city erupted into flames, screams rising into the air as the killer robot fired one missile after the other.

"No…"

The jackal shoved both arms into the ground with all his strength until he managed to shove the hedgehog off him. He propelled forwards, eyes fixed on the blazing city.

"Amy!"

The inferno and terrible screams faded away to be replaced by the white noise of rain hammering against a metal sheet. Infinite sat gasping, dripping with sweat, on a leather sofa. No fire. No robot. No Shadow. Just rain and a thumping migraine that complained with every tiny movement. He placed a hand to the left side of his head where the pain was at its worst. Sticky clumps of fur congealed over his jaw and temple, and the light touch only served to make his head complain even more. He ran his fingers through his disheveled dreads and sank back against the arm of the chair with a groan.

"Nightmares, huh?"

He quirked an ear behind him as Sonic strolled over to him, sporting a black eye. Yet he looked as cheery as ever. He stopped beside the sofa, clutching a steaming mug of coffee in his hands.

"It's good to see you awake!" Sonic smiled and handed Infinite the coffee. "I honestly thought you were a goner."

The jackal took the mug cautiously, muttering a thanks. His throat was parched, and as sore and exhausted as the rest of his body. A hot coffee was more than welcome. The steam licked over his muzzle and he flinched back from it. Wait a minute… He twitched his ear again. Free. No restriction. That meant…

His hands flew to his face, sending the steaming coffee cascading onto the floor. "Where is it?!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sonic raised his hands and stepped back from the jackal. "Calm down, man! Your mask got shattered by that Judge guy!"

Infinite's heart plummeted into his gut and he cracked his fingers open to look at Sonic. "What?"

"I have it right here." The blue hedgehog held out the remains of Infinite's mask. "I was gonna ask Tails to fix it for ya, but he's suffering from a major case of whiplash right now."

Infinite took his mask carefully and set it on his lap. Three jagged piece of black and white plastic. The red plexiglass had cracked and splintered, and was missing a huge chunk where it had crumbled away. He let out a sigh and placed his hand over it. A red haze spread out from his hand, shrouding the mask, and for a fleeting moment it looked as good as new. A fleeting moment. It fell apart just as quickly in his lap.

That little trick had taken almost all his remaining energy, leaving him feeling weak and pathetic. He pinched his muzzle and took a few deep breaths as he tried to gather himself.

"Don't push yourself, pal!" Sonic lifted his hands and took a cautious step towards Infinite. "You took a lot of damage back there!"

Infinite flashed his canines at Sonic and snarled, freezing the hedgehog in his tracks. Then he turned back to his task.

One more try.

He placed his hand back over the mask and tried again. It lit up red, only the haze was a lot weaker this time. No change. The mask lay in three shattered pieces, useless. Tears pricked Infinite's eyes, and he fell back against the arm of the chair, letting his right arm flop across his face.

Sonic picked up one the larger of the broken pieces, and Infinite slammed his hand down on his.

"Don't touch it!" he barked.

Sonic flinched and turned to meet Infinite's glaring yellow eye, peering at him from beneath his arm.

"Relax, pal." Sonic let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm just moving them somewhere safe, okay? You can try to fix it again later when you've got your strength back."

Infinite stared back at him for a moment, relaxing slightly. He retracted his hand and settled against the arm of the sofa, letting the hedgehog collect the broken fragments.

"It's a shame it got so badly damaged," said Sonic. "But why do you even need it? You act like it's some kind of life-line."

Infinite puffed air from his nose and twitched his head back towards Sonic. Pain hammered his head and he screwed his eyes shut, sinking further into the sofa cushion. Somewhere deep in the workshop, a faucet started running.

"I mean, what are you trying to hide exactly?" Sonic went on. "I don't understand why anyone would want to hide their face unless they were up to no good."

"I might be up to no good for all you know," Infinite grunted.

"I find that hard to believe. If you were as much a threat as people thought you were, you'd have destroyed Mainframe by now. Here."

Infinite opened his eye to see a basin of water and a washcloth propped on a small table beside him.

"I thought you might want to clean all that blood off," Sonic explained. He'd taken up refuge on a stool beside the worktop. "I daren't do it myself earlier in case I hurt you. I'm actually surprised you even survived that attack."

"So am I…"

Infinite pushed himself up slowly. His head spun with every movement, thudding with pain and sending waves of nausea throughout his entire body. He grabbed the washcloth and squeezed out some of the hot water before pressing it to his face. He let the warmth soothe away some of the pain, closing his eyes and letting out a small sigh.

"I gotta say, I'm relieved," said Sonic. "My first thought was to call in the cleaners and let Amy know. But when I saw you regenerating, I decided to take a chance and bring you back here."

Infinite rinsed the cloth off in the basin, turning the water an unsettling shade of pink. "What state is the city in?"

"It's fine, for now." Sonic paused and scratched behind his ear, his eyes drifting towards the remains of Infinite's mask in thought. "This is more than just a mask, isn't it?"

Infinite glanced towards him as he wiped more blood off his jaw. "What are you getting at?"

"Amy made it, right?" Sonic asked. "So I guess it's sentimental. I heard you shout her name earlier."

Infinite froze, feeling his face heat up. He bared a canine in warning.

"You're clearly worried about her," Sonic went on. "That's why you're asking about the city, right? And why you intersected the Judge? You're worried she won't actually have left. We practically grew up together, so I know how you feel. Her nickname in junior school was Rosy the Rascal! She was always getting into scrapes, not taking advise and doing what she thought was best."

Infinite lowered the rag back into the water. "So you're telling me she won't have left this city, even though I told her to?"

Sonic's smile fell and he shook his head slowly. "If she cares about you at all, then no. She won't have left the city. Not knowing you're still in it."

"I made her book that ticket! I packed her suitcase and told her to leave! Why would she…" Infinite took a few deep breaths and clasped his ears as his headache worsened. "Why…?"

Sonic leant forward on his knees and wound his hands together. "There was one time in high school I got into trouble with a bunch of goons."

Infinite fixed him with his golden eye, meeting Sonic's smile.

"They had me surrounded, knives drawn, with every intention to seriously hurt me and my friends. So I told all my friends to run and I'd deal with them," he went on. "All of them did, except Amy. She stood by, hammer and all, knowing full well I could handle them. She insisted she was there as backup, and she did a good job too. Took down a guy twice her size." Sonic straightened and flashed Infinite a grin. "So your 'backup' is out there wanting to help you. And she'll find you. She's good at finding people, trust me, I know."

Infinite's racing heart slowed and he turned back to the basin of water. Amy could handle herself. He knew that. Sonic's words had served as a good reminder. Infinite combed his claws through his fur and whiskers, checking for any more blood. When they came away clean, he sank back into the sofa.

"I can't just leave her out there," he mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face.

"I know." Sonic lifted the basin to clear it away. "But you can't go out looking for her in the state you're in now."

Infinite sighed and lowered his hands to his stomach. He couldn't deny he was worried sick, but the blue hedgehog was right. He'd be no use to Amy in the state he was in. He'd just have to trust that she would know when to run.

Sonic gave him a boyish smile. "Looks like I made the right decision leaving you with her. You've clearly got each other's backs."

Infinite's jaw dropped slightly and he watched the hedgehog carry the basin off into an adjoining room, letting the door close behind him.

...

Eggman growled as yet another camera flickered out. It was becoming a common occurrence, but this time it wasn't because of some gangster wanting to mask his little hidey hole. Eggman had watched as the drone's camera fixed on a massive, hulking robot, following its every move as it lumbered down the streets of the Beatdrop Capital. The robot hadn't taken kindly to being followed. A spray of bullets from a machine gun lay waste to the drone, shattering its lens before it hit solid ground.

But Eggman had recognized that robot. One that had been apprehended over a year prior. One that had been proven unruly, and needed 'special treatment' before it could be released back into the public to do the doctor's bidding.

He tugged his mustache and relaxed back into his seat, eyes still fixed on the footage playing out before him. Metal Sonic twitched beside him, spraying out a series of beeps and clangs.

"Hmm, you can say that again," said Eggman. "Starline?!"

The platypus appeared in the doorway, carrying a tea tray. "Yes, Your Geniusness?"

Eggman quirked an eye over his shoulder then nodded at the screens. "Have you any idea why a Judge might be patrolling the streets of Mainframe's capital?"

Starline pottered over to him and placed a china cup on the control deck. "Well, if I were to guess, I'd say it was a fear reaction to apprehend Shadow quickly."

"My thoughts exactly," said Eggman. "But whoever has done it hasn't exactly asked for my permission. And to release that one, of all Judges. That particular model has had some severe behavioral issues. It's already laid waste to three of my drone Fliers, and at least one Strider." He paused, trailing his eyes over the platypus. Not an ounce of fear in his eyes, not a single hair on end. Yet his bill was tightly clenched. "I don't suppose anyone came to you, did they?"

"What? You think I authorized this?" Starline waved a hand at the screen as the Judge plodded by, glowing eyes scanning the street. "Clearly this is the work of someone who is very much aware of your desire to capture Shadow, sir. An intended 'good deed' to apprehend a target who is now deemed too dangerous to be freely running around Mainframe."

Eggman grunted and turned back to the footage. Another Flier's camera turned black, leaving an unsightly hole in the myriad of CCTV screens.

"The Omega model was wrought with robocidal tendencies," Eggman explained. "Something I exploited, using it to deal with rogue robots. A problem at the time of its creation. Some hooligan decided to tamper with the programming of Grade Three robots, sending them into a murderous frenzy. Such flawed robots would mar the perfect image I am trying to portray to the denizens of this world to keep their trust, while I ultimately work on my plan to bend it entirely to my will."

"An abhorrent desire of that particular individual, sir," said Starline. "I trust he was promptly and aptly dealt with?"

"Oh, severely so, I can assure you," said Eggman. "Once that situation was under control, the Omega model was recruited into GUN… then went rogue itself. I wanted to iron out the creases before allowing it to roam free again as a Judge. A punishment on the robot, and a means to shock fear into the hearts of all Mainframe. The last I checked, it was not ready. So whoever authorized this is very much in the wrong, Starline." He paused and stroked his mustache. "Very much in the wrong."

Starline cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "I believe the one behind this particular Judge project is one badger by the name of Faust, sir?"

"Oh, I know that badger. Impolite. Rude. Brash. Yet more than willing to cooperate on this project. I can't see why he'd go against my wishes."

"Rebellion, perhaps?"

Eggman grunted again as he twirled his mustache around his fingers. Someone, or something, was at work here. It was unlikely the Judge robot malfunctioned and broke free. Its movements were too meticulous, too calculating, for that. No. Someone had definitely released it. A few beeps came from Metal Sonic, interrupting the doctor's train of thought. The robot hedgehog's crimson eyes were fixed on Starline. The platypus stared up at Eggman, clearly awaiting an answer.

"Did you say something?" Eggman asked.

"I said someone could have got to him. GUN are divided."

"Oh, I'm very aware of that. But it's unlikely. All emails to that department are intersected to make sure there are no traitors." Eggman narrowed his eyes. "Do you know something, Starline? Because you're beginning to give off a vile mammalian smell."

Starline let out a sigh and smoothed out his suit jacket. "There's no hiding anything from you, is there, Doctor?" He paused, shrinking slightly under the doctor's probing stare.

Metal Sonic flexed his claws and took a step towards the platypus. Eggman stretched out a hand, barring the robot's path and receiving a glare and confused beep in return.

"Hold it, Metal," he said. "Let the vermin speak. I don't want to make any unnecessary mess. The last stain was a darn nuisance to get out."

Starline made an audible gulp. "A-a-allow me to explain, sir. You see, I have been in contact with Faust. But I didn't want to say anything for fear of his safety."

"I expect you to explain, Starline, for the sake of your own safety."

"Of course, sir! You see… he wanted to release the Judge robot to apprehend Shadow. He contacted you to ask, but I was the one to answer. Of course, I know enough about that particular project of yours as I've been avidly following your genius creations for years. I told him it wouldn't be safe, that it would put people at risk. He did back down but… I guess the message didn't fully get through to him." Starline straightened and a small smile spread across his beak. He nodded to the screen where the Judge had appeared outside a closed night club in an evacuated part of the Beatdrop Capital. "I mean, the evidence clearly speaks for itself."

Eggman's eyes narrowed, and he spoke in a low growl. "You had better be telling the truth, Starline."

"Oh I wouldn't lie, sir! Especially not since you've just threatened my life! I mean, I've almost died once already and I have no desire to experience that again!" The platypus shuddered, although Eggman was fairly certain it was faked.

He turned his chair back towards the screens and waved a hand at Starline. "Very well. I shall deal with Faust accordingly. You're dismissed. And take this dishwater with you."

Starline collected the untouched tea and scampered from the room. Metal Sonic watched him go then turned back to Eggman, letting out a long, deep clang.

"I've no idea if he's telling the truth. But someone let that robot out. And Faust knew full well it wasn't ready. Either way, someone has to pay."

He pressed a button on his control deck and the screen before him changed from footage of North Cipher to a GUN database. He scrolled through until he found the relevant file for Faust.

The badger's face appeared in the top right corner, along with a list of qualifications, emergency contacts and all known relatives. But most importantly of all was his current location - his home in Neon village, just outside Node City.

"All right, Metal," said Eggman. "You know what to do."

With that, Metal Sonic turned and dashed from the room.

...

Starline didn't have much choice. Metal Sonic had insisted, until Starline finally twigged that the spiky robot wanted to use his Warp Topaz. Despite the robot's speed, wormholes were certainly a faster means of transport. Especially when apprehending a criminal.

The pair stepped out into a dark room, dragging a frightened badger between them. No one knew the true location for The Executioner. Most criminals were taken to it tranquilized, coming to in a cell. But since the Warp Topaz could create wormholes, such means were excessive and unnecessary.

A high pitched whine came from Faust, and Starline followed his rapidly paling gaze towards a mahogany desk. A robot sat behind it, donned in a curly white wig reminiscent of the judges of old.

"Doctor Eggman alerted me of this individual's arrival," said the robot. "I believe the word he used for his execution was 'prompt'."

"Execution?!" Faust stammered. "But… what for?!"

"Releasing the Judge."

"What?!" Faust turned his terrified eyes onto Starline. "But… but you…! You told me to release the wretched thing!"

"When you phoned," said Starline slowly, "I made Eggman's feelings on the matter very clear."

"Phoned?!" Faust parroted. "Are you kiddin' me, duck?! You came into the facility and demanded it!"

"I did no such thing!" Starline gasped.

"You said Eggman instructed it! To apprehend that Shadow character!" Faust struggled against Starline's grip. "Let me go, liar! You can't kill me for this! I've got a family!"

Metal Sonic secured his grasp on the flailing badger, but the robot's eyes were on Starline. A few clangs and beeps came from it, laced with suspicion.

"If anyone's gonna die for this, it's you!" Faust shrieked. "You forced me to release the Judge! I told you that one weren't ready, and now you're makin' me pay for it?!"

Metal Sonic's digital eyes pierced into Starline's very being. He narrowed his eyes at the soldier and tutted a few times.

"You're the one who was in charge of the program, Faust. If it wasn't ready, then it shouldn't have been released."

"But you-!"

"Enough!" The robot behind the mahogany table brought down a small hammer, creating a bang that far exceeded its size. "I shall be the one to deal with this situation. Your arguments are irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?!" Faust gasped. "I'm being accused of somethin' I ain't done!"

"I shall be the judge of that," said the robot. "Now answer me truthfully. Did you, or did you not, release the Judge robot?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then I judge you as guilty!" The robot clanked his hammer down again.

"I ain't guilty!" Faust shrieked. "This platypus made me do it! He insisted-"

The hammer rapped loudly three times, forcing the badger into silence. The judge's glowing eyes narrowed.

"I have heard enough," it said. "Doctor Eggman has demanded the death of the badger soldier, Faust, on account of releasing a dangerous robot into Mainframe's busiest and most densely populated city. The repercussions of this are extensive. The evidence that you unleashed the Judge robot against Eggman's wishes is clear. This case is now closed. Take him away."

The wigged robot's eyes dimmed and it sagged forward over its desk. No longer listening. Its job was done.

"Wha…?" Faust jerked his head from left to right as he looked between the robot and his two captors. "Enough evidence?! I was tricked into this! Listen to me! Wake up and listen to me! I was-"

A loud creak drowned out his voice as a door opened in the far side of the room. Heavy footsteps came from it, and Faust struggled against his captors' grip. His fur was slick with sweat, almost sliding out of Starline's hands. He was breathing too heavily to keep pleading his case. The skin beneath his dark fur had turned a ghastly white, and his pupils contracted into pinpricks.

A hulking mass emerged from the shadows, towering over them. Its face was hidden behind a black hood, and in its metal claws hung an axe. But it was all for show. Its free hand grabbed Faust by the scruff and the badger let out a blood curdling scream. The Executioner turned to carry him away. Shrieks and pleas beat on Starline's eardrums, and once the door had closed his cries were silenced.

A brief pause passed, then Starline cleared his throat.

"Well," he said. "That's that dealt with then. Shall we return?"

He turned to Metal Sonic, but the robot's expression was far from friendly. It beeped a few times and flexed its claws. Starline inclined his head on one side and let out a thoughtful 'hmm'. The robot certainly didn't trust him. Nor did he trust it. Despite its inability to speak, it must possess some way to commune with Eggman?

Starline sighed and flicked his Warp Topaz, forming a wormhole. They stepped into it, marching out onto warm sunkissed sand. Metal Sonic clanged with frustration, staring over at the towering sand dunes and spread of cacti. Starline feigned surprise, scratching the top of his head.

"Well, that was unexpected," he said, reaching into his coat. "I guess something's come loose. Please excuse me, I'll give it another shot, hmm?"

He flicked the Warp Topaz again, and Metal turned his back on him to face where he expected the wormhole to manifest. Starline whipped a tazer from his inside pocket and fired, striking Metal Sonic in the back of the head. Sparks exploded across his glossy body, shorting his circuits, and he crumpled to the sand face first.

Starline tucked his weapon away and crouched beside the robot, reaching for the panel at the base of its head. A small data chip was tucked away inside, identical to the EggTech Starline was familiar with. On it would be all of Metal Sonic's memories. All Starline needed to do was to erase the most recent ones to cover up his ruse. As for the robot judge at the Executioner's, well that wouldn't say anything. It had no need to. All it was meant to do was find the truth in the case presented to it, and it had done just that. Faust had released the Judge. Starline's part in the matter had nothing to do with it as far as that robot was concerned.

Metal, however, was a different story. He was closer to Eggman than any other robot in Mainframe, and he had already picked up on Starline's trickery. So long as Metal didn't show any peculiar behavior, then Eggman wouldn't feel any desire to check his memories. And if he did, the blank space left would be seen as nothing more than a glitch in the robot's programming. A simple error to iron out.

Starline grinned from ear to ear as he popped the data chip into his pocket computer and set to work.

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	40. Sleepless Chapter 17

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D**

Chapter Seventeen

Amy sat outside the coffee shop near the train station, sheltered under the gazebo from the rain. She'd stayed at home with her friends that night, chasing conspiracy theories that all turned out to be fake until the three of them conked out in the living room. Earlier that morning, they returned to the station to steer clear of the residential district. No unpacking her suitcase. Evacuation was under way, and she didn't want to be caught up in the sweep of it all. Especially since no trains would be dropping anyone off in the Beatdrop Capital for a while.

The only idea any of them could come up with that made an ounce of sense was to start by tracking down Shadow.

She sipped her coffee as she watched Tangle tap away at her Pineapple. "Any joy?"

"Oh yeah, tons," said the lemur. "But a lot of them are probably hoaxes."

"Most likely," said Whisper. "People are scared. Fear sells."

Tangle nodded then turned back to her computer. "Apparently he was sighted in the park last night around three in the morning, but also right at the northern end of the city, fleeing towards the mountains. I mean, yeah, the guy can vanish into thin air, but how likely is it he was in both places at the same time?"

"Very unlikely." Amy sighed into her coffee. "It's going to be harder to find him than I first thought."

"Of course," said Whisper. "GUN have been after him for years. No success."

"Aye, twenty five years at least!" said Tangle. "But we've got this in the bag! He's all stirred up now he's been found guilty. He's gotta put a foot wrong at some point, right?"

Whisper grimaced and turned away, clutching a green mug of coffee to her chest.

Amy watched the wolf for a moment then returned to her drink. Tangle continued raving on, but it was just noise to the hedgehog. Whisper's reaction alone was a perfect description to how dire the situation was. Shadow could be anywhere. Infinite could be anywhere. And not a single person looking for Shadow knew where he was. If he hadn't been successfully captured in two decades, then what joy did any of them have? What joy did Infinite have?

It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Shadow could be anywhere, above and below ground. There was every possibility he'd left the city. Wherever he was, he was a threat. Throw a Judge robot into the mix, and the Beatdrop Capital was not a safe place to be. Maybe she should just retrieve her suitcase and stick to the original plan. Book another train and beat it, and hope Infinite wasn't far behind.

No… no, she wasn't going to quit just because things were looking a little tough. She came back to reality, meeting Tangle's questioning gaze. Whisper was also staring at her, although significantly more tense than her friend.

"Huh?" Amy shook her head to clear the fog away. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"I said I might have found a lead." Tangle grinned as Amy's emerald eyes widened. "Turns out the park is the most legit option. Three reports of a black hedgehog fleeing through the park from a pair of EggPawns. He vanished in one of the little side streets, sending those robots into confusion. One of them malfunctioned, and was collected this morning. Several news articles have reported that robot, but only three mention the rumored sighting of Shadow. One of which says he's responsible for the EggPawn goin' nuts and breaking down by hitting its own self-destruct button. So it's either a rumor to explain the malfunctioning robot, or there's some truth behind this."

"So he's still in the city?" Amy asked. "Or could he have fled to the mountains once he vanished?"

"I'm more inclined to say he's in this city," said Tangle. "I mean, they're evacuatin' it. Where's the safest place to hide? Right under everyone's nose, while the city is in a panic. The more people leave, the less there are to spot him."

"And he won't be swept up with the rest of us?"

Tangle shook her head then looked over to Whisper for confirmation. The wolf made a little grunt of discomfort and nodded her agreement.

"Probably stay out of sight," she said.

"Yup." Tangle tapped at her computer screen. "There's enough reports of a black hedgehog boarding the train. Apparently he's boarded it seventeen times this day alone."

"Well sure, how many black hedgehogs are there?" Amy scoffed. "Or wolves, or porcupines? People are seeing what they want to see. You have black quills or fur, immediately you're Shadow."

"Like Whisper said. 'Fear sells'. The more riled up a rumor can get people, the more it spreads and sets others on edge."

"Like a disease," said Amy.

Tangle burst into laughter and wiped a tear from her eye. "Aye! Just like a disease."

Even Whisper cracked a smile.

"Well, now we have a lead," said Tangle, "maybe we can get more solid evidence."

"What do you suggest?" asked Amy.

"Hey, Whisper?" Tangle looked up at the wolf. "Can you get us some drone footage from the park?"

Whisper's fur bristled and her blue eyes opened wide. "What?"

"Your Dad works for GUN, right? So he can get us some footage."

Whisper bit her lip and sank into her seat. "Not possible."

"Aww, come on! Surely you've got GUN privileges? We're tryin' to find a dangerous killer here."

"We're not GUN," said Whisper flatly. "Meant to be evacuated. This isn't a game."

Tangle gasped. "I never said it was a game!"

"I think what Whisper's trying to say," said Amy, "is that her Dad will tell her just that. We're not qualified, so why would GUN give us information that could put us in danger? We can't go asking him for that. It could get him into trouble."

"Exactly," said Whisper.

Tangle nodded and a frown tugged at her muzzle. "Fine, I get it." Then she perked up and beamed at the wolf. "So why don't you get it for us?"

Whisper's jaw dropped. "I can't!"

"Sure you can! I've seen ya play on your Dad's computer! Do some spyin' and let's see what we can find!"

Whisper grimaced again and set her coffee down on the table. "You're impossible."

"Are you sayin' you're not going to do it?"

Whisper pulled her phone out from her pocket and set a visor by her ear. Amy and Tangle watched her, slack-jawed.

"What is this?" Tangle waved a hand at the wolf's new apparel. "Some kinda journalist thing?"

Whisper shrugged and said nothing as she occupied herself with her computer.

Tangle turned to Amy and nodded in the wolf's direction. "I think it's a journalist thing. Friends in high places 'n' all that jazz."

"They have to get their information from somewhere," said Amy.

But still… she had no idea Whisper had a GUN visor. The little silver disk hung by her ear, and the green flash of a holoscreen hovered before her left eye. Usually you could see the display of what they were looking at in reverse, but Whisper had done something to blank out prying eyes. All that greeted Amy was the dancing avatar of a cartoon wolf, oddly reminiscent of Whisper herself.

Tangle returned to her conspiracy browsing, while Amy sipped her coffee. She cringed. Tepid. The mug found itself on the table beside the napkin dispenser, while Amy pulled out her own phone.

It was an idle habit, really. Both friends she regularly communed with were sat with her, trying to help her track down the one friend she desperately wished she had contact with. She sighed and tucked her phone back into her dress pocket.

"Where are you, Infinite?" she muttered.

"Found something." Whisper's voice drew the attention of her friends.

Amy stood to join Tangle looking over the wolf's shoulder. A short snippet of footage played out on her computer. A black and white shadowy blur rushing through long grass to vanish into thin air.

"What is that?" Tangle asked.

"Believed to be Shadow," said Whisper. "But he didn't disappear into that alley."

"Nor is he being pursued by EggPawns." Tangle scratched behind her ear and made a thoughtful noise. "Conspiracy theories are interestin' 'n' all but man do they bend the truth."

"I think that's the nature of the game." Amy returned to Whisper's computer. "Then what is he running from?"

"This." Whisper rotated the footage as Shadow flew across the screen again. Then she paused it.

A blue robot hedgehog graced the screen, with red eyes and razor sharp claws.

"Oh, I've heard of him!" said Tangle. "Metal Sonic, right? That robot has been doggin' our Shadow for years. I think it scores pretty high on the list of those who've nearly caught the slippery 'hog."

"And there it is again, trying to catch him," said Amy. "So what caused the EggPawn to malfunction?"

"Glitch?" Whisper shrugged and tucked her phone away. "Robots are machines, not living creatures. They break."

Tangle tucked her hands behind her head. "We break pretty easily, too, if I'm honest."

"Well, we're none the wiser." Amy smiled up at her friend. "But at least we know he's been sighted in the city. Thank you, Whisper."

The wolf shrugged again. "'S fine."

"Hey, we know where to start lookin' now," said Tangle. "I say we head to the park and start lookin' for clues!"

Amy let out a small chuckle and folded her arms. "That actually sounds like fun. Are you in?"

She turned to Whisper, receiving a smile. "I'm in."

...

"I'm out." Blaze shook her head and leant back in her seat.

"Huh?" Silver looked up from his case notes. "What do you mean 'your out'?"

The scenery outside whizzed by as the train rattled along its tracks. He cast a glance at the back of the carriage where the greying head of a purple cat sat nattering to the Beatdrop Capital's pudgy mayor. Neither of them had heard his outburst, and he was fairly certain they'd agree with Blaze on this one.

He turned back to the delicate feline and cleared his throat. "We've almost cracked it."

"Correction. We have cracked it." Blaze shrugged. "We found out who the killer is. Now it's up to Eggman to clean up the mess. Not us."

Silver snorted and looked back down at his computer. "Fantastic job he's doing, too, unleashing that Judge on the city."

"At least he's evacuating us."

"GUN are doing that. The Judge is just ransacking everything. There's already been casualties." The silver hedgehog scratched his quills and sighed. "I'd much rather be in there, beating him to Shadow."

"Why on earth would you want to do that? Shadow has demonstrated unusual powers, and I doubt that Judge would let you get in its way. You wouldn't stand a chance against either of them."

Silver bristled, but brushed her comment off. At the end of the day, Shadow would be facing punishment whoever caught him. He was a murderer. As far as Silver and Blaze were concerned, their part was done.

So why was he unwilling to let go?

"I just can't help feeling like we're missing something," he said quietly. "I mean, Shadow has a next target. A canine. Can we really just let that go?"

"Given the entire city is being evacuated, I think his chances of reaching his next target are fairly slim," said Blaze.

Silver nodded at that and shut off his computer. "I guess you're right. It's no use stressing over it. But still…"

Blaze inclined her head on one side. "You feel like you've not solved the case?"

"You could say that."

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. "Okay. I'll level with you. Once the Judge incident has blown over and it's safe to come back to the city, then if anything is left uncovered I'll help you uncover it." She met his eyes and slammed her hand on the table, causing his computer to leap into the air. "But only if you agree not to come rushing back here as soon as my back is turned!"

Silver straightened his computer and placed one hand on it. A nervous smile tugged at his lips.

"Okay!" he said. "Okay, you have my word."

Blaze smiled and gave him a single nod. "Good. Now, if you want to join our table, you can. We'll be ordering some dinner soon, and after all you've done to shed some light on my brother's case…" She trailed off, diverting her gaze to the window. Tears glistened in her eyes and one broke free to trickle down her cheek.

Silver reached across the table and placed his hand on hers, drawing her golden eyes back onto his. He gave her a warm smile, receiving one in return.

"That's really nice of you," he said. "Thank you. I accept."

"It's the least we can do." She stood and nodded towards her parents' table. "Shall we?"

...

Sonic strolled into Tails' workshop, toweling off his quills. The fox stood hunched over his bench, and the shrill whine of an electric screwdriver cut through the silence. Sonic joined his friend's side, and once Tails had finished with the drill, he set it aside and lifted up his mask's protective screen.

"How's it coming along?" Sonic nodded to the robot canine sprawled out on the bench. "Managed to save it all?"

"It wasn't destroyed to begin with," said Tails.

"So it'll have all its memories?" Sonic let out a sigh of relief as Tails gave a curt nod. "Oh thank goodness."

"That behemoth turned your barking tin can into swiss cheese. I'm surprised there's even anything left."

Sonic looked up at Infinite sitting on the leather couch. The jackal had finished demolishing the peanut butter Sonic had scavenged from the kitchen, and licked what was left of it off his fingers with the meticulous intensity of a domestic cat.

"Tails does good work," said Sonic. "It's a shame you won't let him touch your mask."

Infinite scoffed and looked away from them.

Sonic watched him for a moment then let out a sigh. Try all he might, he couldn't work out that jackal. Somehow, Amy had got through to him. But Sonic felt if she hadn't, he'd be a raging tornado of threat and destruction. It was hard to believe the alien penned up in Gadget's cell was the wounded and worn-out canine moping on Tails' leather sofa.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sonic ventured.

After a brief delay, Infinite looked up and his mismatched eyes widened with surprise.

"Who, me?" He looked between the workstation and Sonic then grinned. "Sorry, I thought you were talking to your mechanical pet."

Sonic felt his quills prickle but he took a deep breath and repressed the urge to lay into the jackal. He clenched his fists, hidden out of sight from Infinite's position.

"No, I meant you," he said. "I was wondering how your head is."

"Fine." Infinite finished cleaning his hand and sank back in his seat.

Sonic waited for him to elaborate, but that was it. Nothing else. How did Amy deal with this man? Sonic ran his fingers through his quills and shook his head, turning back to Tails.

The fox was equally as quiet, but Sonic was used to that. T-Pup's foreleg twitched and a small whimper came from it.

"Is it okay?" he asked.

"It's a robot, Sonic," said Tails.

Sonic bit his lip in favor of laying into Tails about how T-Pup was more than just a robot. The fox had suffered enough as it was, and it was amazing he was even working with two cracked ribs.

"It'll be fine," Tails went on. "It'll be up and running again before lunch time."

Sonic nodded and turned back to the sitting area. He flopped into the arm chair opposite Infinite, finding himself under his intense gaze. The familiarity to the dangerous patient Sonic had once known was chilling. The jackal had since showered, and removed all his apparel from his mane. It hung about his face, flopping down around his scarred eye, making him look more like the man detained in the mental ward than the vibrant jackal in Amy's company. All that was missing was the straight jacket and muzzle.

"Why are you so concerned about a robot dog?" he asked.

Sonic looked up at him and smirked. "Why are you so concerned about a mask?"

"I'm not especially concerned about it, I just don't want anyone to see my face." Infinite paused, and his expression turned unreadable. "If you weren't Amy's friend, I'd have to kill you."

"Why? Because I've seen your face?"

Infinite shrugged and idly toyed with the fractured pieces of his mask.

"You know," said Sonic, "you stand out a lot more wearing that mask than you do without."

Infinite continued to stare at him, causing a chill to race through the hedgehog's body. He tried his best not to let it show, but a small smirk tugged at Infinite's lips.

"Why don't you want anyone to see your face?" Sonic asked. "I don't see any problem."

The smirk vanished and Infinite huffed. "I don't need to tell you anything."

He set the broken mask on his lap like a child putting together a jigsaw, and that red haze appeared around his hand. A deep pulsing sound reverberated around the room as the glow spread across his mask, sealing up all the cracks. When he retracted his hand, the mask sat there, pristine. Not a scratch in sight.

"Huh!" Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Useful skill!"

Infinite merely looked at him as he set his mask back in place. No exhaustion on his face this time. That sleep and peanut butter had done a world of good. Or it was his regeneration. One or the other.

"This whole ordeal has been a massive setback, huh?" Sonic let out a chuckle, but it did nothing to lift the ice. "Shadow could be anywhere by now."

"With the way he can vanish and reappear at will," Infinite said slowly, "then it really doesn't matter how much time passes, does it?"

Sonic's shoulders sagged and his ears drooped. "I guess. Thanks for the downer, bud."

"I'm not your 'bud'." Infinite mimed air quotes. "Remember that before I'm forced to remind you myself."

The electric screwdriver fizzled out and Tails quirked an ear towards them. If Infinite noticed, he didn't care. Sonic was willing to bet that was the case - arrogant and sure of his strength even after all he'd just been through.

"So about Shadow," Sonic went on. "If he's got the same powers as you, then you know how to deal with him. Right? What to expect and all that?"

"Not necessarily," said Infinite.

"Care to elaborate?"

A grin spread across the jackal's muzzle. "This kind of power can be used in infinite ways."

Sonic chuckled again. "I'm gonna guess that pun was intended?"

Infinite's grinning face didn't falter as he tugged his gloves back onto his hands, shuffling about to make sure the red and green belts remained crossed over his back.

"I just wanna say though, if Shadow is the murderer, he didn't come across as such." Sonic drew the jackal's attention back on him. "He was desperate to find that serial killer. There was no inkling at all that it was him."

"Let me tell you a little something." Infinite sank back into his seat and spread one arm over the back of it. "There are two types of killer in this world. Those that relish in it, and those that like to cover their trail."

Sonic blinked as he tried to absorb that statement. "What are you getting at?"

"Come on, you're not that dense? Shadow was pulling your leg, Blue Freak. Trying to throw you off the trail so he could keep doing what he was doing." Infinite leant forward, causing Sonic to flinch back into the arm chair. "Of course he was going to lie. You think he'd just come out and say it? It's how psychopaths like him don't get caught! He has a plan, and he didn't want your spiny ass getting in the way. So he won you over so he could keep at it, working his way up to his main target. You saw that mural, right? A canine's head?"

"Of course we did," said Sonic. "It could be any canine - or fox - he's had an encounter with."

"Fox?" Infinite spat. He looked over at Tails who was working busily on his robot, but his ear was trained on their conversation. "Hmm. I suppose so. But I think it's pretty clear that message was meant for me."

Sonic's brow furrowed. "What makes you so sure of that?"

"He has his own Phantom Ruby," Infinite said, counting off on his claws. "Every step he's taken has mimicked my own personal way of living - tidy, organized, and his victims probably don't even see him coming. Everything has been a message leading to the next victim, and his clue that time was a canine. Either he was trying to throw GUN off his scent and onto mine, or this is personal. And I'm pretty certain it's the latter."

"But you've never met!"

"Haven't we?"

Infinite's expression turned unreadable again, and Sonic shifted in his seat under the jackal's intense gaze.

"I don't think I understand," said Sonic.

"Of course you don't."

Infinite stood, and Sonic copied him on impulse, bracing himself for any potential threat Infinite might pose.

"I'm leaving," he said.

"Really?" Sonic cut before him and spread his arms in a shrug. "But we've not finished forming a plan!"

"We never agreed to form a plan. Now I have a hedgehog to catch. Step aside before I add another one to my list."

Sonic strafed to the side, letting the jackal pass. "It isn't safe, Infinite. That Judge robot is still out there. If your paths cross again-"

"So?" Infinite kept his back on him as he marched towards the shutter. "I can handle that little problem."

"Are you serious?!" Sonic gasped. "That guy smashed your head in! Literally!"

"I let my guard down, that was all." Infinite looked back at him over his shoulder. "Something I won't be allowing to happen again."

He stopped before the shutter, and a deep hum filled the workshop as his powers activated. The shutter rose up, letting in the stormy air.

"I thought we were looking for Shadow together?" said Sonic.

"If you believe I agreed to that, you're deluded."

The shutter fell back into place, leaving Sonic and Tails alone in the workshop. Sonic's shoulders fell and he let out a long sigh.

"Leave him," said Tails. "It's not as if he agreed to work together."

"I know but… at least say 'thanks' or something?" Sonic sank against the work bench beside his friend and folded his arms. "I just hope he doesn't try to take on that Judge again."

"I hope he does."

Sonic snapped his head around towards Tails. The fox turned a screw in his fingers in the light then discarded it into a trash can.

"Someone's got to stop it," he went on. "And Infinite stands a better chance than we do."

...

Hovering over the city was a non-starter. Using the Phantom Ruby would only serve to weaken Infinite, and also draw the Judge's attention. So the jackal resorted to warping himself through the Chaos Network, perching on various rooftops to survey the city.

He dropped onto the massive logo of Beatdrop Casino in a crouch, clutching the edge of the massive 'C' to steady himself, and gazed out at the Beatdrop Capital. The casino wasn't as tall as the skyscrapers, but the daylight made it clear there was no-one lurking about on the roofs. The streets were equally devoid of life. GUN soldiers were the only ones occupying it, searching for stragglers as they dashed in and out of doors and milled about the alleyways. It made it a whole lot easier to spot a black hedgehog, although Infinite had had no joy so far.

A GUN squirrel soldier stopped opposite the casino and his eye flitted towards the sign. He did a double take, but by the time he'd realised someone was there, Infinite had vanished. He reappeared again a few blocks down from the casino and dropped down onto the empty street. Despite having grown up in a desert, the barrenness of the city was unnerving. Eerie. Not even a footstep echoing in the distance.

Infinite paced down the street, keeping his ears trained on his surroundings. As he passed by the apartment blocks he kept expecting the blinds to twitch or a door to open. A siren cut through the air miles away and he turned his head instinctively towards it. It was very far away, and wouldn't ordinarily have been heard over the din of the city life.

He came to a stop and tucked his hands behind his back, tapping his foot as he looked up and down the street.

"Now if I were a wanted criminal," he said to himself, "where would I hide?"

A flicker of sunlight reflected off the floor, catching Infinite's eye. He looked down at his right and cocked an eyebrow at the manhole cover. The little light speck on its rim was almost flower-like, adding a bit of beauty to an otherwise unsightly item.

It would be unlikely that Shadow would just be waltzing around the streets. And with GUN soldiers rushing in and out of buildings searching for stragglers, he'd be risking himself hiding indoors. So the only other places he could hide… were the sky… or underground. In the sewers. Where all of Mainframe's filth coalesced.

Infinite's nose crinkled at the thought and he let out a sigh, rolling his eyes towards the sky. "Why me?"

He grit his teeth and reached for the slab of metal. His fingers twitched mere inches from it and the desire to not touch it began to take over as the hum of the Phantom Ruby reverberated in his ears. He let out another sigh and shunted the idea aside, grasping the lid in his claws and yanking it off the street. It was oddly heavy and he grunted as he shoved it to the side.

Putrid air slammed into his face like water breaking a dam and he coughed, wafting his hand before his muzzle. His fur bristled as he could practically feel the germs crawling around over his skin. He stared down into the dark void, eyeing the rusty ladder caked with goodness knows what, and shuddered.

"Okay, Infinite," he told himself. "You've been in worse places. Can't think of any off the top of my head that can trump this, but… you've got this."

He took a deep breath, swiftly regretted it, then swung himself onto the ladder. He tugged the manhole cover back in place, plunging the sewer into darkness. He had to feel his way down towards the bottom as his eyes adjusted, and the soft clang of metal rang out as his boot struck the metal grate that served as a walkway.

Water gurgled on his left as it rushed beneath the metal bridge that served as a landing point for workers. It was probably partly psychological, knowing that the putrid water was so close, but it smelled even worse in the sewer than it had above ground when he'd removed the cover. Infinite forced himself to breathe and pressed on, sticking close to the wall away from the mucky water, and trying his best not to catch his fur on the smooth, slick and damp wall.

Damp…

Infinite grimaced, then froze as his ears twitched. Something moved ahead of him, tiny feet scampering over the iron grate. Then squeaking.

Just rats.

He closed his eyes briefly and moved on. The iron grate forked off to his right, and dim light came from the tunnel. A maintenance tunnel. The iron grate merged into a concrete path through the tunnel, a quick way to get from A to B. The stone archway had various grooves along it, which the rats had gnawed holes into in order to build their nests. The mortar had rotted in parts, and was in dire need of some maintenance itself.

Infinite ventured through it to the other side, but it didn't end in an iron grate. The concrete path continued on along a flow of cleaner looking, yet still foul smelling, water.

It really was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The jackal followed the walkway along for a good stretch, occasionally glancing up at the world above. A few storm drains allowed light to leak down, telling him it was still daylight, but it was easy to lose track of time this far underground. Rats scurried along the walls on narrow ledges, uncaring of Infinite's presence. Not the slightest bit vicious. Just going about their day. He was in their world now, after all. If anything happened to him down here, they'd probably clean up the mess and no one would ever know…

He quickly filed that thought away and picked up his pace, humming to himself if only to remain sane.

The path finally ended at another iron grate, crossing over the water to allow access to another ladder. A way out of the sewer. But beyond that was yet another tunnel, which the water cascaded along as it parted. Curiosity got the better of Infinite, and he trotted towards it to peer into the faintly illuminated passageway.

In one of the grooves was a mound of cloth. He ventured towards it, discovering it to be part of a little nest, discarded beside empty coffee cans and sandwich packaging. What little of the leftovers hadn't yet been picked clean by rats still looked fresh, too. His tongue poked out in disgust. Who on earth would eat down here? He made a little grunt and straightened. Only someone desperately hiding, of course.

There weren't many answers to this little clue. The nest was cold, and probably abandoned, but it certainly wasn't old. Either someone was living in the sewers, or he'd discovered Shadow's hiding place. One he hoped desperately wasn't temporary. He turned his head towards the manhole cover and an amused grin spread across his muzzle. Not too far from prying eyes, either.

Infinite leapt towards the ladder and hoisted himself back up onto the surface. The second fresh air greeted him, he gulped it down, taking deep, steady breaths of it as he shoved the cover back in place, stemming the flow of filthy air.

He rubbed at his arms and straightened, turning to look down the street.

Empty.

And not too far away, he could see the school's clock.

He grunted again and inclined his head on one side. Typical. He'd been hot on the trail the night before, and given the empty nest, it had likely run cold. Especially if Shadow didn't want to be caught. If Infinite was in his position, he'd want to keep moving.

He just had to hope Shadow wasn't the cautious type, and would return to it later.

...

**Review Replies:**

**XtraXP - Hi! Thanks for the review! =D I'm glad I have you speculating! It's fun to see peoples' ideas and theories.**

**Thanks everyone! As always, please R&R! =D**


	41. Sleepless Chapter 18

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! **

**I'm not sure when next weekend's update will be, as we're busy. It might be delayed until the following Monday, or moved earlier to this coming Thursday. Please bare with me.**

Chapter Eighteen

The park was eerily silent. Usually buzzing with the shouts and laughter of children, it was now only buzzing with bees as they drifted from plant to plant. Amy often found such things tranquil. Peaceful. But instead it chilled her.

The park, like many other parts of the Beatdrop Capital, had been thoroughly evacuated. The trio had made their way into the park out of the sights of EggPawns. Eggman's robot soldiers paraded the streets looking for stragglers, their beady eyes scanning left and right. Each one with a javelin strapped across its broad back. Mixed in with them were GUN soldiers, also armed, but a lot friendlier-looking than the sinister robots.

"All clear." Whisper's quiet voice came from the lowest branch of a sturdy oak tree.

Amy poked her head out from behind a rose bush as a pair of EggPawns vanished out of sight.

"Well, at least we now know what they were doing," she said. "If they weren't chasing Shadow, that is."

She looked up as Tangle strolled towards her with her arms tucked behind her head.

"Find anything?" Amy asked.

The lemur shook her head. "Na'da. It's as if someone waltzed over afterwards and cleaned up any sign a broken robot had even been lying there. I can't find so much as a nut!"

Whisper ducked her muzzle down behind her collar and continued watching the soldiers. They had no interest in the park. They were more occupied with checking the apartment buildings that surrounded it, and were very much done and dusted. The soldiers that remained were mopping up the remains before moving out to other areas of the city.

"So do you think we're safe to check for clues?" Amy asked.

"I don't know what we'll find," said Tangle. "On my way back over here, I checked some bushes, but there was no sign of a nest back that way." She nodded the way she'd come. "If I were to guess, Shadow would wanna stay outta sight, right?"

"Like… underground?" Amy ventured.

"I was thinkin' more like lurkin' in some thorny thicket. But sure, we can go with your idea!"

"Makes a lotta sense he'd be underground," said Whisper.

Tangle's face split in a wide grin. "So we're lookin' for an old burrow or something?"

"… Sure." Whisper smiled down at them.

"I don't know." Amy sighed and scratched her quills. "It doesn't make much sense to me that he'd hide outside. Why not use a boarded up building, or a vacant one, for that matter! The city is being evacuated. He has his choice of anywhere right now."

"That makes sense too." Tangle gave a frustrated sigh. "How are we gonna search everywhere with just three of us?"

Whisper swung her feet back and forth as she gazed over the street. "Cameras."

Amy and Tangle looked up at her, mouths agape.

"You're thinkin' of hackin' into the drones again?" Tangle asked.

Whisper shrugged. "Sure."

"Hah!" Tangle slapped herself on the leg. "And just a couple of hours ago you were dead set against that."

Whisper pulled her computer out of her jacket pocket. "I'll stay here. You two search the park. Look for quills. Debris. Any sign of a nest or struggle."

Tangle fixed Amy with a raised eyebrow. "Shall we split up?"

"We'd cover more ground that way." Amy straightened and drew her mallet. "You take the area back over there. I'll search this side."

Tangle saluted and took off back the way she'd come, her long tail waving behind her.

Amy looked back up into the tree. "If you need us, Whisper…"

The wolf waved without looking down. Amy smiled and turned to follow the path winding through the park. Tangle had a point. Shadow would want to hide out of sight. So she searched inside every bush, placing her hammer beside her to drag her torso inside. There was enough space in most of the bushes for children to play inside, and evidence some did turn them into little dens. But discarded sweet wrappers and the forgotten foam bullets to toy weapons didn't exactly scream 'Shadow'.

It was beginning to feel like a lost cause. Why would he hide outside, in the open? Sure there was more space to run, but wouldn't an old building provide better shelter? Not just from prying eyes, but also the elements?

There wasn't even any evidence a homeless person had set up refuge in the park. GUN often did sweeps to move them on. If that was the case, then it was growing ever more unlikely that Shadow would be hiding out in the open.

Amy paused beneath a tree. A sycamore with wide sturdy branches. A squirrel drey nestled between the topmost branches, decked out with leaves to keep the light at bay. The lower boughs were sturdy and low enough to climb, covered in scuffs to support that theory. The leaves were also dense enough to hide in. Amy dropped her hammer at the base of the tree and leapt onto the lowest branch, working her way up higher. It didn't take too long for her to reach the hidden branches.

She perched on the branch, happy that it was more than sturdy enough to hold her weight. It could hold two or three people easily. A sticky patch caught her eye, right where the branch joined the trunk. Sap oozed out, pooling in a little crevice. Her nose crinkled at it. Not exactly something she'd want to sit in. But something else caught her eye. Sticking out of the sap was a white tuft of fur.

She reached out to pluck it free and turned it in her fingers. From what she'd seen, Shadow did have white fur. Not a lot of it, but still. If it was his, then he may very well had hidden in this tree at some point.

A shrill yell cut across the park, and Amy had to clutch the branch to steady herself, losing the fur in the process. She jerked her head around towards the cry, spotting Tangle rushing towards Whisper. Heavy footsteps echoed across the park and she followed the lemur's frantic pointing towards a hulking mass of a robot.

Its red and black hull glistened in the faint sunlight. It hoisted a machine gun in its right hand and set off a chain of fire. Not at Tangle or Whisper, but at the sky. Something creaked ominously, and Amy turned her head towards it. One of the Strider Drones. Its legs buckled as it tumbled to the floor, its camera bulb shattered from the robot's assault.

She shook herself and dropped to the lower branches, working her way back down the tree. With the drone gone, the Mainframers were suddenly a lot more interesting to the robot. Amy grabbed her hammer and backed away, waiting for her friends.

"Analyzing." The robot's emotionless voice rang out through the silent park. "Lifeforms are not Shadow. Threat level, low. Nuisance factor, medium."

Whisper joined Amy's side, but Tangle's interest was consumed by the robot.

"Wait!" She pointed a finger at the robot. "You're lookin' for Shadow?"

"Tangle!" Amy screeched. "Get out of there! You saw what it did to that drone!"

"Shadow is this Judge Robot's target." The robot's eyes narrowed. "All lifeforms should have been evacuated. Assessment says you three lifeforms are rebelling against protocol."

"Kinda." Tangle folded her arms. "We're helpin' to find that black hedgehog!"

"Re-assessment. Lifeforms are after the same target. That means these lifeforms are in the way of this Judge Robot's assignment. Nuisance factor raised to high. I shall eradicate these lifeforms."

It hoisted its gun, and Tangle's jaw dropped. She leapt aside as a spray of bullets narrowly skimmed her tail.

"Tangle!" Amy screamed.

She raised her hammer and rushed to her friend's aide. The lemur sat in a crouch. Her long tail curled into a fist and she swung it towards the robot. It extended like a piece of elastic. The Judge swatted it aside with the back of its free hand, sending Tangle raising from the floor to tumble into a thorn bush.

Amy brought her hammer down onto the robot's foot with a clang. It didn't so much as flinch. Her ears drooped and she looked up at it, right into the glowing barrels of its machine gun. All wind was sent flying from her lungs as someone crashed into her, rolling her out of the way of a hot spray of bullets. She looked up into Whisper's frantic face, then back at the robot.

"What do we do?" Amy squeaked.

"We run." Whisper grabbed her hand and dragged her through the park.

"What about Tangle?" Amy gasped, turning her head back towards the robot.

The lemur had swiftly recovered. While the Judge was distracted by Amy and Whisper, Tangle had managed to clamber onto its back. It swung its arm to shake her off, but she held on tight, fastening her tail around its neck. Her fingers clutched onto its helmet as it twisted back and forth, whipping up her fur with the momentum. Tangle squealed and cheered, and waved one arm like a rodeo girl riding a crazed bull at a carnival.

"Think she's fine," said Whisper.

"She's not fine!" Amy skidded to a halt and whipped out her hammer. "We have to do something! She's going to get herself killed!"

Whisper's lip twitched and she turned to look back at Tangle. Amy made to run back towards the Judge, but the wolf grabbed her arm.

"Go!" she said.

"But… Whisper! She's our friend!"

"I'll help her. Now go. Hide." Whisper stepped in front of her, facing the Judge and barricading Amy's path.

The Judge twisted and turned as Tangle leapt along its flailing arms. Surrounding trees lost their branches in an explosion of splinters as bullets cleaved through them. Tangle was fast, but she couldn't keep it up indefinitely. Sooner or later, the Judge would catch her and squish her like a flea.

Amy's heart sank and she lowered her hammer. "But you might end up hurt, too, Whisper. Please. Let me help, I'm not useless."

"I know." Whisper balled her hands into fists then sighed. "Fine. Strike that tree." She pointed a claw towards a broad oak, only a quick jog from where they stood.

"Towards the robot?" Amy asked.

"Yes."

Amy rushed towards the oak tree, raising her hammer. She brought it down against its base with a 'pop!' Hearts sprayed out from it, betraying the hammer's power. The tree creaked and groaned for a moment, then toppled away from them.

The Judge had its back turned, but Tangle had heard the creaking. She leapt into the air as the tree crashed down onto the Judge. She landed in its branches and rolled along its trunk, performing a somersault as she landed before Amy and Whisper.

The Judge swatted at the tree, struggling to deal with the vast number of spindly branches. "Assessing… Tree is hindering the mission. Tree must be eradicated."

"Did you see me?!" Tangle squealed, clasping her hands before her face.

"We saw you all right," said Amy. "What were you think-"

"Move!" Whisper nudged the hedgehog, and thrust Tangle ahead of her. "It'll find its way out of that tree before too long."

Amy rushed off ahead of her, keeping her ears trained on the robot. The sick sound of cracking wood rose over the roar of its machine gun. Then the trunk exploded, raining down splinters across the park. The whir of its machine gun faded out, then its voice reached them.

"Nuisance lifeforms are fleeing. They must be eradicated before they return to further hinder the mission."

Whisper leapt past Amy and skidded into the street. She stooped to grab a manhole cover and grunted under its weight. Once it was aside, she nodded towards it.

"Go."

"Are you kidding?" Amy clasped a hand over her nose.

Whisper pulled her down onto the street as bullets scattered over them, striking the brick wall of the building opposite. Amy's heart was racing. Before she could say anything, she found herself pushed into the sewer. The ladder slipped from her fingers, and her mallet tumbled into the darkness, striking the metal floor with a clang. Amy squealed as she tumbled after it, but was stopped short of the bottom. She looked up into Tangle's grinning face.

"Gotcha!" she said.

Her tail was fastened firmly around Amy's left arm. She swung the hedgehog back towards the ladder, and Amy grabbed on. They were plunged back into darkness as Whisper joined them, and the soft grating of the manhole cover sliding back into place echoed through the tunnels. The Judge's voice faded into a muffle, but its heavy footsteps echoed chillingly through the underground.

Amy clambered down the ladder, choking on the putrid air. She covered her muzzle with one hand, and scooped up her mallet and tucked it away. Then changed her mind. Anything could be in the sewer, and not just rats. Hadn't they only just considered the presence of Shadow beneath Mainframe's surface? Hiding… lurking… waiting for everything to blow over before he struck again.

Amy clutched her hammer tight and stood waiting for her eyes to adjust.

"Where are all the robots?" she asked. "I expected to see cleaning drones at least."

"Pretty rare," said Whisper.

"Really?" Amy cocked an eyebrow and adjusted her grip on her hammer. "Seems a bit of an oversight…"

Light flooded the tunnel and Whisper moved to her side, clutching a torch in her hand. She ushered her along, staying a little ahead of Amy and Tangle.

"So where are we going?" Amy asked. "It's completely alien down here."

"Station," said Whisper flatly. "It's far. Need to lose the Judge."

Whisper paused at the fork ahead of them, then turned left, crossing the filthy water over a narrow iron grate that Amy found with some disappointment lacked any barrier to keep one from toppling in.

She hugged her arms around herself and crossed it slowly. Tangle had no problem, walking along behind her with perfect balance.

"How on earth do you know the way?" Amy asked Whisper. "Have you been down here?"

Whisper quirked an ear back towards her but said nothing.

When they reached the other side, Tangle appeared beside Amy and beamed.

"The answer's obvious!" she said. "Whisper's from the Beatdrop Capital. She's clearly been down here."

"But why?" Amy squeaked.

"Seriously?" Tangle asked. "You never played in the sewers before?"

"Ew! No! Gross!" Amy hugged herself tightly. "It's where everyone's toilet water goes!"

"I wasn't asking if you went swimming in it! I'm talkin' adventure! Playin' underground! You go far enough, you find old and forgotten subway stations and other areas of times long past. It's pretty awesome, actually."

"Secret GUN bases, too," said Whisper. "So be careful, and keep your voice down."

Amy snapped her mouth shut and cast a glance down a narrow tunnel. A rat peered back at her before scurrying off into the shadows.

"Secret GUN bases?" Tangle's whisper was oddly shrill.

Whisper glanced back at her.

"So what?" Tangle went on. "We could find, like, some top secret information down here?"

Whisper sighed and shook her head, dismissing the lemur.

Amy narrowed her eyes at Tangle. "Seriously? You've already risked losing your life once today. Please don't make a habit of it."

Tangle tucked her hands behind her head and grinned. "Live a little, girl!"

"I plan to." Amy hoisted her hammer onto her shoulder. "That's why we're not throwing ourselves voluntarily into danger. Now keep your voice down."

Whisper came to a sudden stop and let out a long 'shh!'

Amy froze behind her and strained her ears. "What is-"

"Shh!"

Then she heard it. Two voices, muttering. Too faint to pick out precisely. A narrow tunnel forked off on their left across the gurgling black water. Whisper turned her ears towards it, then raised a hand. A silent message for Amy and Tangle to stay where they were. She handed Amy her torch and dimmed the light. Enough to see by, but not enough to leak into the little tunnel.

Amy watched the wolf creep across the narrow bridge, each step silent. She paused beside the tunnel, peering into it with one eye. Her mouth fell open and her blue eyes widened. Then the voices abruptly halted. After a brief pause, a stray string of zeroes and ones flowed out from the tunnel, interspersed with other symbols. The sight of it alone was chilling and uncanny, and for a brief moment Amy thought she'd imagined it.

Whisper turned back towards her friends and mouthed one word silently.

'Shadow'.

...

"I don't know what you're thinking, Shadow," said Rouge. "But we can't stay down here forever."

The bat paused in a little alcove and watched Shadow as he continued along the narrow iron grate. He kicked out at a soda can, sending it into the sewage where it was washed away downstream.

"We can't go back up there either," he said. "It's safer down here."

"They're evacuating the city," said Rouge. "There'll be less people to see us."

"Yeah, and a whole army looking for us!" Shadow threw his hands in the air and turned back towards her. "Down here has always been safest. I only ever surfaced to see daylight, but now there's no point. At least down here there are no prying eyes!"

"So, what? You want to become a sewer monster?"

He bared a canine and flopped back against the wall in a strop. He ruffled his quills and sighed.

"I don't know, Rouge. Things are just messy right now. I don't know what to do. At least down here I'm no threat."

Her heart began to ache and she stared at him for a moment. "You're not a threat to me. I know whatever is going on with you isn't you."

He lowered his hand and shrugged. "Until I get it under control, I'm a threat to everyone. Even you."

"I disagree." She nudged a rat that had got too close away with her boot, and it scurried off into the shadows. "But I do understand why you want to stay out of sight. And as much as I agree with you there, there isn't much for us in this damp and stinky mire. Just rats and whatever that is." She nodded to the black water. "And I don't know about you, but I'm not partial to raw vermin."

Shadow scratched behind his ear. "Then if you have any better suggestions, let's hear them."

"Well we could start by-" Rouge's ears twitched and she looked up past Shadow towards the tunnel mouth.

Something moved beyond it. Or someone. Dim light penetrated the faint shadows. Almost unnoticeable to someone unfamiliar with the sewers. But both herself and Shadow were not unfamiliar with them.

"Someone's there," she whispered.

Shadow pushed himself back from the wall and turned his head towards the tunnel. No more movement, but the air was still thick with an ominous presence.

"We should go," said Rouge. "It might be GUN."

Shadow didn't need telling twice. He pulled Rouge into himself and the Chaos Network warped around him. He grimaced as the code corrupted and warped them out of the sewer. They emerged again on soft green grass surrounded by rustling trees.

He released Rouge and she stepped back from him, looking around at their surroundings.

"The park?" she asked.

Shadow rubbed his head and sank back against a tree.

She took a step towards him and raised her hand. "Are you okay?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but a loud crash cut him off. The pair looked up, wide-eyed, as a robot tossed a shattered tree trunk aside. Its red eyes narrowed onto them and it raised a hand towards a weapon strapped to its back.

"Target has been spotted," it said. "Target must be neutralized."

"Omega?!" Rouge gasped.

"Incorrect tag." It hoisted a rocket launcher on its shoulder. "I am The Judge, and you, Shadow the Hedgehog, have been judged 'guilty'."

A loud, sharp hiss came from the gun, and a huge rocket was propelled towards them. Shadow barreled Rouge to the side, then warped her through the Chaos Network into the branches of a nearby tree. The one where they'd been standing erupted in an explosion of splinters and turf.

The black hedgehog glared down at the robot as it turned to try and spot them, its rocket launcher spewing smoke into the air. It wouldn't be wise to leave such a robot to continue wrecking havoc on Mainframe. And if Eggman really had sent out a Judge to exterminate him, then so long as it was functioning, Shadow was as good as dead.

Exterminated for murder.

Murders Shadow didn't even remember committing.

Lives he'd never even considered taking, consciously.

But a Judge robot wouldn't listen to reason. It didn't care if Shadow had no memories of his crimes. It didn't care if he was used as a puppet by some invisible entity pulling the strings. So long as the victims had died at Shadow's hands, he was judged guilty. And it would stop at nothing to exact its judgment upon him.

A walking flaw. A pure example of the open, oozing welt of Eggman's disease on Mainframe. And no one else could see it.

The robot's crimson eyes locked on him, glowing like flames in the dark of night.

"You will not escape," it said. "Stand still and be slaughtered."

The rocket launcher fired again. Shadow had no time to tap into the Chaos Network. He grabbed Rouge and leapt from the tree as it exploded behind him. Sharp splinters snagged his fur, and Rouge winced in his arms. He released her and she fluttered free, hovering several feet from the robot.

"Omega!" she pleaded. "Please, listen to me!"

The Judge ignored her, turning its weapon onto Shadow. Another rocket whistled across the park, gliding through the glowing aura left behind from Shadow's Chaos Control. He appeared behind the robot and twisted in the air, landing a blazing kick against its back. It lurched forwards and sparks flew as Shadow's air skates scuffed up its paintwork.

The Judge twisted, swinging its free arm at the hedgehog. It stuck his side, knocking the wind out of him and sending him careening across the park.

"Shadow!" Rouge shrieked.

The Judge turned its glare onto her and aimed its machine gun. Without a word, it pulled the trigger. Hot bullets skimmed Rouge as she veered to the side.

"Omega! Please! I know you're still in there-ah!"

She grunted as a bullet cleaved through her wing's membrane, and she crumpled to the ground. It brought its fist down towards her and she screwed her eyes shut.

A flash of flames exploded off the robot's arm, knocking it off balance. Shadow stood over her, clenching his fists at his sides.

"Move!" he barked at Rouge.

"Bat judged as an accomplice," the Judge said as it readied its weapon once more. "You both must be exterminated."

The pair scattered as the weapon was brought crashing towards the ground. Rouge cowered behind an oak and poked her head out to see Shadow.

"We can't beat this!" she said.

Shadow watched the robot as it turned its rocket launcher back onto him. No. They couldn't beat this. He glanced around the park, and his eyes landed on something glittering in the moonlight.

The lake.

He vanished into the Chaos Network, wincing again as the code corrupted. The rocket struck the ground, creating a geyser of turf and shattered wood. Shadow appeared behind the robot and landed in a sprawl on its back. He tapped into the Chaos Network again, feeling the strain as he dragged the robot with him. It reached up its arm to dislodge him, but he was off its back and leaping to safety before it could even open its hand.

The Judge landed with a mighty splash in the lake, vanishing beneath the surface. Shadow beat his hands together and turned away from it, a smug smile forming on his face.

Rouge ran towards him and he held out his hands to stop her. Her eyes weren't on him, but the lake.

"We have to help him," she said.

"No. We have to run." He retracted his hand as a trickle of blood dripped from her wounded wing. "It hurt you…"

"Don't you recognize him?" Rouge snapped. "It's Omega! He helped us! Remember?"

"I remember Omega," he said. "But that robot is not Omega."

"It is!"

"Not anymore!" Shadow snapped. "Now come on, before we find out it can swim or something."

Before Rouge could retaliate, Shadow pulled her into him and warped them from the park. Anywhere. Anywhere but there.

The Casino roof. Shadow grimaced when he spotted the table. The one he'd napped under before he'd gone and killed that poor deer. He sank back against a trash can and closed his eyes.

Rouge stood before him and folded her arms. "Shadow… look at me."

He cracked a crimson eye open, meeting her frown.

"We have to go back and help him," she said. "He needs us."

"He wants to kill us."

"But it's not him! He's been… reprogrammed. We might be able to salvage the old Omega. Wake him up. Help him to remember who he is."

"It's pointless."

"It's not! I know the old Omega, and he would never have behaved like this."

"It's not Omega anymore, Rouge. He's a robot! Robots can be reprogrammed. It's just an old shell with a new AI. Now drop it."

He closed his eye again and massaged his forehead. All that warping had done a number on him. It never used to be that hard. Whatever those powers were, they clearly had something to do with it.

Rouge tapped her foot, bringing him back to the present. But he didn't look at her. He didn't want to.

"You know," she said quietly. "I thought you'd understand."

"Huh?"

"You're alike," she said. "Same body, but performing actions outside your control. Brainwashed, to put it bluntly."

He opened his eyes then, and stared at her, aghast.

"Just like you didn't ask for those weird crimson powers," she said, "Omega didn't ask for this. You're not a murderer, despite what Mainframe thinks. The real Omega would see right past that to the real Shadow underneath. And I believe our Omega is still in there."

She turned her back and slid away beneath one of the tables to nurse her wounded wing, leaving Shadow to think over everything she'd just said. It was bitter.

...

Starline had watched the footage play out several times already. The Judge robot had managed to find Shadow, but the slippery hedgehog had lost it. Dumping it in the lake was a genius idea, but that wasn't enough to stop it.

The little spy drone broadcast the footage back to the Egg Base from its hiding hole in a tree. The droning buzz from its bee-like wings drowned out most of the commotion, but the splash as the Judge hit the water had been like a thunder clap.

Beside that footage played the battle between the Judge and Infinite. If Starline didn't know better, he'd have believed the jackal was dead. But it would take more than that to destroy him.

Starline twirled his hair and leant back in his seat, hitting play once again. He was missing something. Something critical.

Shadow vanished again, leaving behind a spray of binary. Starline leant forward and paused the footage, zooming in for a closer look.

There. He narrowed his eyes at it. Something peculiar in that coding…

The door hissed open, and he swiftly minimized the footage in favor of a book he'd kept open. He turned in his seat, clutching the arm of the chair. He relaxed when he saw the robot hedgehog and turned back to his personal computer, pretending to read the dull detective novel. It wasn't exactly unusual for the robot to come into his room and spy on him.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, expecting no reply.

Metal Sonic flexed his claws and made a grating, beeping noise. His eyes weren't fierce, but they were demanding. Starline took it as a hint that Eggman wished to see him. He closed his computer and pushed himself from his seat to follow the robot.

All issues surrounding Faust had vanished. Not surprisingly, Eggman had discovered missing data from Metal Sonic, along with frazzled wires from the tazer. What was surprising was that the Doctor had dropped the issue entirely. Whether or not he'd believed Starline's ruse about a stray electrical current from the wormhole, Starline was uncertain. Robots could short circuit. Data could be lost. It was as simple as that. But he couldn't help but think the Doctor was onto something.

Eggman sat in his usual seat surrounded by his computer monitors. He brushed his mustache with his fingers and glanced over his shoulder at the platypus. Starline adjusted his tie and took a step into the room.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"I've been thinking, Starline," Eggman said slowly, "Since you authorized that phone call with Faust, I'm going to need you to clean up the mess."

Starline's beak went slack. "That's… rather sudden, if you pardon me saying so."

"That robot is causing problems. Taking Faust out of the picture doesn't fix things. All it does is remind GUN where they stand, and what happens when someone threatens my position. When a robot goes out of control, it costs me trust. Trust I need if I'm going to set the ball in motion for plans I've had for the past four decades. Might I remind you, Starline, that Mainframe never used to trust robots." Eggman turned so he could face Starline and jammed his thumb into one of the monitors. Frozen footage of the Judge launching a rocket across the rooftops of Beatdrop's apartment buildings. "Seeing one like this… how do you think they're going to react?"

"I guess quite frightfully, Sir."

"Precisely." Eggman swiveled his seat back around. "Now, ordinarily when a Judge is released, they deal with the task at hand. This one is out of control. It needs to be brought back under control, and I'm going to need you to deal with it."

Starline spread his hands. "Why me? I'm not equipped to deal with robots."

"Do you really think I believed you when you told me this was Faust's idea?"

Starline froze, his beak flapping open and closed as he tried to find words.

Eggman turned his chair back towards him again. "I don't know if you were telling the truth or not, Starline. I don't read people, I read books. For all I know, you could be trying to cover up your mangy hide."

"Sir! Believe me, I have not once stepped foot out of line. I obeyed your rules down to the letter when I was in charge of the Infinite Project. Anyone who jeopardized your rules was promptly dealt with."

"Yes, by soldiers. They weren't exactly sent to the Executioner, were they? Many lives were lost that I have no record of. People I could have dragged information out of to get a look into those rogue sections of GUN. I know you worked against me, Starline. The evidence is all there."

"I worked undercover, Sir! I told you everything that section was working on."

Eggman waved a hand. "Irrelevant. Something has gone down here that has thrown shade on your position. My evidence? A rogue robot tries to apprehend Shadow shortly after I tell you I'm trying to catch him for his DNA. Faust is executed, and I have no record of that in Metal's memory. It's conveniently erased from the second the pair of you stepped into one of your wormholes. Stray current, indeed!" A grin spread across the doctor's face. "If you want to prove your innocence, Starline, then you'll get that robot under control. Otherwise it's your neck the Executioner will be cleaving."

Starline gulped and took a step back. "Of course, Sir."

"I don't know why exactly you've come here, but you intrigue me. Enough for me to keep you alive, for now. But understand this. If you're planning to leak information concerning my plans for Mainframe, I will find out. Working against me is treason. If that's your scheme, then believe me, Mainframe will learn what happens to those guilty of treason and slander. I'll make sure of that by making your execution public."

...

The Judge's claws dug into the soft bank of the lake. The water parted as it hoisted itself free, cascading off its glistening shell. Its fierce, red eyes leered into the darkness, and it tossed its machine gun ahead of it onto the grass. It struck the side of the rocket launcher, creating a clang that echoed out into the park.

The Judge pulled itself free of the lake, and water pooled around it on the grass. A few dozing ducks leapt from the reeds and swam off in a panic, quacking and flapping. The robot paid them no heed.

It stooped to retrieve its weapons and shook water from the nozzle of the rocket launcher. It aimed it into the sky and fired, sending a rocket whistling into the air. At least it still worked.

It fastened it to its back and then retrieved its machine gun.

"Shadow's threat level increased to critical," it said. "Mission priority elevated. Shadow must be stopped, and every obstacle eliminated. Other lifeforms' status moved to 'irrelevant', and any in my path will be destroyed."

It stared off across the park then, flicking water from its claws, it marched across the grass towards the exit.

...

**Thanks for reading! As always, please R&R! =D**


	42. Sleepless Chapter 19

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D Sorry this is so late. I've had a super busy weekend. So this update will be pretty close to the next one!**

Chapter Nineteen

Infinite shook water from his fur as he strolled from the bathroom. A much needed shower after that walk around the sewers. It had taken over an hour to get the stink out of his fur, and he still felt like he'd never be clean.

Amy's apartment was quiet and dark, only the faint streetlights leaking in between the curtains. The eerie silence only added to the loneliness. He didn't want to stay here. The whole place smelled like her, a constant reminder that she was out there somewhere while both Shadow and that robot roamed loose. A quick snack and a rest, and Infinite would be back out on the streets to put an end to it all. He flicked on the TV, and a sheep's voice immediately began broadcasting Mainframe's news. All the way back in Central City, if the view from her window of Twinkle Park was anything to go by. Infinite stopped by the kitchen to grab a jar of peanut butter and stuffed his hand into it to scoop some out. The taste and texture of it was oddly relaxing.

He went over to the window and shunted the curtain aside to see out into the street. Empty. Not even a GUN soldier. Going off the news broadcast, all the soldiers were congregating around the Judge, keeping the streets free of pedestrians. Rounding up each and every last straggler to get them to safety.

He glanced over to the holoscreen as he licked peanut butter off his fingers. No live footage now. All stills and short videos caught by onlookers. A missile had been launched, taking out a a chunk of a skyscraper as the Judge took down a GUN chopper. The helicopter lay in a smoldering scrap heap in the middle of a small side street.

More stills. This time the park. Craters and smoking trees lay scattered throughout. More evidence of the Judge's rampage.

Shadow had been a problem, sure, but that robot was a massive threat. Tails hadn't been wrong when he'd labeled it as 'a massive overreaction'.

Infinite snorted and turned back to the window. If it had been roaming anywhere else, he'd leave GUN to deal with it. But as things stood, if it got to Shadow before he did, then there'd be nothing left. Infinite would never get his answers. Never find out why exactly the hedgehog had tried to frame him. And as for Amy… she was still in the city, with her friends no doubt.

He removed his fingers from his mouth and sighed, leaning against the windowsill. His appetite retreated back inside him like a frightened mouse.

What could he do? His powers were failing him. Like this, he was weak. Weak and pathetic. He couldn't protect anyone. That robot had almost killed him. Smashed him like a fly.

What could it do to an ordinary Mainframer?

A vivid image of it filled his mind, rampaging after the citizens. After Amy. Snatching up her and her friends in its massive, clawed, deadly hands.

Infinite screwed his eyes shut and clenched his fist. No… no, he didn't need to think about that! Something soft coated his hand and he opened his eyes again. His claws had cut into the jar, and peanut butter leaked out over his fur and onto the windowsill. He released it and tried to lick himself clean.

His ear twitched as a strange sound filled the room. A deep whir that pulsed almost like the Phantom Ruby.

Phantom Ruby?!

He dropped the peanut butter and turned to face it, baring his canines. Reality swirled inside a small pocket, revealing a pristine white room beyond it. Starline strolled out of the wormhole and smoothed out his suit, then flicked his wrist and closed up the distorted air.

Infinite's breathing turned erratic and his breath grated and rattled in his throat. His shoulders tensed and he dug his claws into his pads.

"What are you doing here?" he spat.

"Now, now." Starline smiled. If it was meant to be friendly, he needed a lot of practice. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"Friend?!" Infinite's fur spiked along his spine. "We are not friends!"

"Really?" Starline widened his eyes, a pathetic feigned attempt at disappointment. "After all we've been through?"

"You mean 'after all you put me through'? I am not your toy, Doctor!" Infinite spat the last word as if it were poison.

Starline chuckled and clasped his hands behind his back. "I thought we'd put all that behind us after I saved you from Gadget?"

Infinite let out a low growl and swished his tail. His ears had pulled back flat against his head, and he had to will them to stand upright. Threatening, not fearful. The mad doctor couldn't do anything to him now. Not anymore.

Starline sighed and shrugged. "But I guess you're not one to so easily forgive? I mean, surely you understand? I'm a doctor, after all. I was curious about you."

"You almost killed me. You tortured me… you laughed!"

"Like I said." Starline met his eyes. "I was curious."

Curious?! Infinite's eyes flashed with fury and the Phantom Ruby's familiar hum thrummed in his ears. Its crimson haze surrounded his body, gaining a raised eyebrow from the platypus.

"You are not taking me back!" Infinite roared.

Starline closed his eyes and raised a hand. "I wouldn't dream of it. No… I have more pressing matters to deal with right now."

Infinite glared at Starline as he tried to steady his breathing. Every muscle was tense, a stark contrast to the doctor's casual posture.

"I actually need your help," said Starline.

Infinite blinked, his jaw hanging open. Was that platypus serious?

Infinite looked him up and down then snorted. "If you think I'm going to help you after all you've done to me, then you're crazier than I thought."

The crimson haze faded out and he sank back against the window. That alone had done a number on him. He grabbed the mangled jar of peanut butter and licked what was left of it off his hands as he made his way to the sofa.

Starline watched him curiously before following him. He perched on the arm of the chair, gaining a livid glare from the jackal.

"I thought I made myself clear," he growled. "I am not helping you."

"You haven't let me tell you what it is yet," said Starline. "You might actually want to help me."

Infinite narrowed his eyes. Just one swat. One swat from his Phantom Ruby and Starline would be dust. Literally. Then Infinite would vacuum him up and that would be the end of that. He lifted his sticky hand but froze as Starline scooped up a folded piece of card from the table and flicked it open. A roller coaster ride, back from when he dragged Amy to Twinkle Park.

Starline made a thoughtful 'hmm'.

"Give that back!" Infinite barked, snatching for it.

Starline held it out of reach and slid from the sofa. "I did wonder if you two were still hanging around together. This house does go a little against your tastes." He set the photo back down on the coffee table and fixed Infinite with another smile. "Is she still in the Beatdrop Capital? Or was she evacuated?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

Infinite's voice was laced with warning, yet each word washed over Starline like snow melt.

"You might want to," Starline explained. "That Judge robot is stopping at nothing to get what it wants. If you value her life, you'll make sure she's safe."

Infinite rose from the sofa and deposited the peanut butter beside him. "Are you blackmailing me?!"

"Not at all!" Starline gasped. "Infinite, listen to me. I came here to ask if you will help stop that robot. No other reason but that."

The room suddenly fell silent, save for the news article still covering the Judge. Infinite blinked at Starline and let his arms fall to his sides.

Starline shrugged. "It's true. Releasing it was a fatal error. In many senses of the term. It was unleashed to apprehend Shadow, but its programming is flawed. It believes every single thing that gets in its way - robot, Mainframer, building, vehicle - everything is a threat to its mission. A Judge robot is meant to be particular. Focused. But this? Liken it to an out of control child, if you will. Then put that child in an unruly robot body. It's chaos!" He threw his hands in the air, then shook his head and tutted. "Such a mistake setting it loose. And no one can seem to stop it."

Infinite flexed his claws, but his breathing had finally settled. "So why come to me?"

"Because unlike us, you can stop it. Your powers-"

"I can't stop it." Infinite slumped back into his seat again and ran his hands down his face. "It almost killed me."

"I know."

He looked up at Starline and raised an eyebrow. "How do you-"

Starline raised a hand to silence him. "Irrelevant. The thing is, you now know what it's capable of. And I know what you're capable of. If you can warp reality, then you can put a stop to the Judge. Destroy it! Turn it into a snail and crush it! Anything. That's what your powers do, right? Alter reality?"

Infinite snorted and reached across the table for his mask. "When they work."

Starline inclined his head on one side. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I need to sort out Shadow first. Something is going on, and I believe he has something to do with it."

"Shadow?" Starline nodded and clicked his tongue. "Oh yes. I believe he's been demonstrating similar powers to you."

Infinite stared at his mask, trailing a finger along its muzzle. Shadow… His lips curled back and he repressed a snarl.

"I think I understand," Starline went on. "You're useless to me right now."

Infinite jerked his head up to look at him, canines bared. "Useless?!"

"You just told me your powers aren't working." Starline shrugged and shook his head. "That makes you completely useless to me." Starline tapped his chin and gazed up at the ceiling. "Unless I use you as bait?"

Infinite's body trembled with rage. Useless?

"I mean, if they're not working, then you can't exactly deal with that robot. Can you?"

"Let me make one thing very clear, Doc." Infinite rose from his seat and set his mask in place, fastening it around his ears. "I'm not working for you. Don't you get the wrong idea. I already have a plan, and I'm sticking to it."

"Oh?" Starline inclined his head on one side.

"I'm going to deal with Shadow." Infinite met his eye and finished licking peanut butter off his fur. "And once he's dealt with, my powers will be back under my control. Then I'll reduce that Judge to scrap metal."

Starline tutted, but a smile spread across his bill. "I much preferred the idea of transforming it into a snail to crush it. It rang with a poetic justice."

Infinite glared at him. "I do things my way."

"Of course." Starline waved his left hand, and a wormhole opened behind him. "It was lovely to catch up again. I suppose I'll see you when all this has blown over, hmm?"

Infinite flicked his tail. "If I see you again, it'll be too soon."

Starline grinned and closed the wormhole up behind him.

...

"Urgh, this place is vile." Amy's nose crinkled as she followed Whisper up the ladder towards the surface. "I feel like I'll need a super long shower after this."

Tangle laughed behind her. "Oh, you are such a sewer rookie, Amy."

Amy shook her head and focused her attention on reaching the manhole cover. "I can't believe people actually want to play in somewhere like this."

"Well, Shadow clearly thinks it's a good place to hide," said Tangle.

"Because no normal person would dream of venturing down here on a whim!" Amy jibed, flashing the lemur a smile.

"Yup! Got me there!" Tangle grinned up at her. "I am far from normal!"

Metal grated along concrete as Whisper shunted the manhole cover aside. The sewer lit up with a dim dusky light. Whisper clambered out onto the street and offered a hand to Amy. As the pink hedgehog reached the top of the ladder, she stretched out a hand and froze as a shadow loomed over her. A shadow with quills. A chill ran down her spine and she looked up at Whisper, who was now distracted by the newcomer.

"Y'all right up there, sisters?" Tangle asked.

Amy turned her head to see behind her, then let out a sigh of relief. Sonic stood there with one hand on his rifle, but he gave her a relaxed smile. Tails stood against the wall nearby with his trusty robot canine.

"Sonic?" She blinked her large eyes in surprise. What was he doing in the Beatdrop Capital?

"Didn't expect to see you coming out of a sewer!" he said. "You looking for sewer monsters?"

"You could say that." Amy pulled herself out onto the ground and stood aside to make room for Tangle.

"GUN soldiers?!" Tangle leapt onto the sidewalk and fist-pumped the air. "So cool!"

Whisper shook her head and looked away.

"Trying to help Infinite, huh?" Sonic shifted his weight to one leg and folded his arms. "I'm not really sure you should be looking for Shadow, though."

Amy's quills stood on end and she turned to face him. "How do you know about that?!"

"Shadow?" Sonic lifted his hands in a shrug. "Guy's all over the news, Amy. It's not exactly a secret."

"I meant how did you know that Infinite's looking for him?"

"He told me." Sonic grinned. "Our path's kinda crossed a couple of days ago. Poor guy had a near death experience."

"What?" Amy gasped, grabbing Sonic by the collar. "How?! Is he okay?!"

Sonic laughed and prised her hands from his jacket. "Relax, Amy, he's fine!"

Amy let out a sigh of relief and stood back from him. "So he ran into Shadow then?"

"Nope!" Sonic nodded towards the buildings behind him, but she couldn't see anything there. "The Judge. That crazy robot is looking for Shadow, too, and doesn't exactly like anyone getting in its way."

"What, so he had a fight with that Judge?" asked Tangle. She exchanged glances with her friends and raised an eyebrow. "Voluntarily? Man, that guy really is nuts! We fought that thing out of self defense!"

"You fought that Judge?!" Sonic's brow furrowed with worry.

Tails looked up with a start, and T-Pup let out a long whine.

Amy opened her mouth to speak, but Whisper silenced her with a hand on her shoulder. The wolf stared at Sonic, taking in his weapon and GUN uniform.

"Didn't exactly leave us much choice," she said quietly.

Sonic ran a hand across his forehead and sighed. "I guess I should just be glad you're all okay? But seriously, what were you thinking?"

"Doesn't matter," Whisper went on. "So where is he now?"

"Who, Infinite?" Sonic shrugged again. "No clue. We kinda lost him. But he's looking for Shadow, and I reckon if we find Shadow then we find Infinite. But… as for you three… you really shouldn't be lurking around in this city. It's been evacuated, yanno."

T-Pup gave an affirmative bark, then let its tongue loll out of its mouth in a happy pant.

Amy looked up from the dog to the twin-tailed fox beside it. Tails gave her a glance, but was more occupied with searching the shadows for any sign of a threat. Not a single hint of emotion on his face. It was only the second time she'd seen him like this, and it unsettled her greatly. It was almost as if he radiated cold, turning things to ice around him.

He pushed himself from the wall and adjusted his rifle around his shoulders. "Sonic's right. You three shouldn't be here. Allow us to escort you to the station."

"There are no more trains leaving here now, bud," said Sonic.

"Then we shall take them in the Tornado." Tails scanned his eyes over the three girls. "I can make three trips."

"No! Please." Amy held up her hands. "We can't leave. He needs me! He's exhausted, he can't handle Shadow alone!"

"Yeah, I kinda got that impression," said Sonic. "But he turned down the offer from us, and I know for a fact he wants you out of this city."

"He told you?" she squeaked.

"Yeah." Sonic gave a single nod. "But I know how stubborn you are! I think I managed to convince him you'd be okay. But I think it's time you three headed to North Cipher, where it's safe."

"No, I can't! I'm not leaving him here alone!" She turned and ushered her friends ahead of her. "Come on, girls."

A hand fastened around hers and she looked back into Tails' icy blue eyes. "You don't really have much choice."

T-Pup whimpered and looked between his handler and Amy.

Amy tried to yank her hand back, but he held it firmly. "Let me go, Tails!"

"Come on, bro," said Sonic as he joined his side. "You don't need to use force. Let her go."

"If I let her go, she won't comply," said Tails. "And will end up doing something foolish again."

"I'm not just going to run blindly into danger!" Amy protested.

"That's what you say," said Tails. "But you're the one searching a sewer for a deadly criminal."

Sonic pushed between them, but Tails narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog.

Tangle inched closer to Amy's back and said in a voice barely more than a whisper, "Keep them distracted. I'll grab his weapon."

Amy ignored her, more occupied with freeing herself. "Come on, Tails! I know you remember me!"

Tails pushed Sonic aside with his free hand. "Of course I remember you."

"Then you must know I can defend myself! Just because I don't work for GUN doesn't make me any less capable!"

"GUN has specific intense training to deal with situations such as this."

"Seriously?" Sonic grabbed Amy's hand in a bid to free it from Tails' death-grip. "Even we didn't train to deal with people possessing such powers, bro."

"We were trained to deal with catastrophic events," said Tails. "This qualifies as one."

Amy blinked as a stripy black tail stretched out behind Sonic and Tails like a giant hand. The blue hedgehog made a quick 'hm?' and followed her gaze. Tangle snatched Tails' gun and yanked it back, causing the fox to stumble and release Amy.

Sonic leapt away from them in a blur and stood on the other side of the road with his fists clenched. He stared up at Tangle, perched on a street lamp and brandishing Tails' rifle as if she'd acquired the spoils of victory.

The blue hedgehog laughed and shook his head. "What are you guys playing at?"

Amy whipped out her mallet, drawing Tails' blank stare from Tangle onto herself. "We're not playing anything. We're going to help Infinite find Shadow, and you can either help us or work against us."

Tails straightened and flicked both his tails, a sign Amy knew full well meant he was bracing himself to charge into them.

Sonic strolled across the road and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. But his eyes were on Amy.

"You wanna team up?" He sounded surprised. "You shoulda said that sooner, rather than going about things yourself."

Amy blinked in surprise. "Wha…?"

Tangle slid down the street lamp with Tails' rifle now strapped across her back. "You seriously gonna help us? GUN?!"

Whisper looked between each of them, silently.

Sonic shrugged and folded his hands behind his head. "Sure! I'd be iffy to let you guys go off on your own, but I know what you're capable of as a team. Amy, at least. And let's face it, if you can take Tails by surprise then you've got skill!" He winked at Tangle.

Tangle beamed from ear to ear and clenched her fist. "So I'm gonna be workin' with GUN soldiers? This day just got a whole lot more awesome!"

Sonic folded his arms and winked again. "Just what I was thinking!"

Tails stared at the excitable lemur and held out his hand. "Gun."

...

The wind whistled through Rouge's wing with every beat, each one forcing air through the tiny bullet hole in her membrane. It hurt like crazy, but compared to her mission, it was nothing. She followed the trail of robot wreckage from the park and through the winding streets. Strider Drones, fliers, Stalkers, EggPawns… anything that had got in Omega's way. Cleaners were mopping up the mess, busying around the streets in an emotionless frenzy. The city was a state. She desperately needed to find Omega before Shadow woke up.

She'd warred with the decision to leave him there on the Casino rooftop. Both he and Omega needed her, but the black hedgehog was being stubborn. Unwilling to listen to her reasoning. As far as he was concerned, Omega was now a ruthless killing machine, and their top priority was to get as far away from 'it' as possible.

He didn't believe for a second that Omega's original programming could be restored. Rouge, however… she didn't know. GUN would likely have extracted it, wiping it entirely from his memory in favor of the Judge programming. No memories. But GUN also valued their robot staff. Would erasing it be classed as an execution? Omega had gone rogue, after all, turning against GUN by abandoning their mission to capture Shadow.

Omega hadn't wanted to. He'd been confused by Rouge's sudden change of heart. Robots didn't understand emotions. They didn't have them. Just a vague programming that caused them to react to certain situations, but there was no feeling in it.

But they did understand loyalty. And reason. Once he'd seen what Shadow was truly like - innocent, not the monster GUN had made him out to be - Omega also had a change of heart. He'd stuck by their sides to protect both Shadow and Rouge, spotting and disabling any spy drones that GUN sent after them. Well… disabling was a nice way of wording it. To be more precise, each one was reduced to jagged shrapnel. When it came to other robots, Omega had an unusual rivalry. He'd never bat an eyelid about destroying another robot. Mainframers, however…

Rouge perched daintily on a street lamp and tucked her wings in, wincing at a stab of pain. It was fleeting. It didn't matter. What did matter was the robot only a few feet away. His glowing red eyes misted in the stormy air, trained on Beatdrop City Station. A sentinel, silent and towering over the overturned hover-cars.

"What are you waiting for, Omega?" Her voice was barely even a whisper.

She scanned the silent streets around him. What she'd dismissed as rain water glistened in the dim street lights. Blood, and lots of it. The corpses of hundreds of GUN soldiers littered the street, sprawled over their weapons.

Rouge's tiny tail curled tightly beneath her, and her ears pulled flat against her head. Her heart hammered in her chest and she shook her head slowly. No. This wasn't Omega. He wasn't some merciless killing machine.

He turned his head left, then right. Rouge clutched the street lamp, her entire body rigid. But he didn't look in her direction. He fixed his weapon across his back then turned, marching away from the station. To where, she hadn't a clue.

She couldn't move. Her entire body was unwilling. She watched him go, a sense of dread washing over her. She was probably going to lose him once he vanished beyond the buildings. But if she approached him now, she'd be joining those poor soldiers.

No empathy. No remorse. Just an empty killing machine trying to find its target, and clearing every obstacle from its path in order to do so.

How on earth was she going to get through to him?

...

**Review Replies:**

**knightofthewintermoon - Thanks for reading! I'm glad you're enjoying Infinite's story =D I'm also happy you may be rooting for Infinite and Amy here, too XD Don't worry about leaving out Memory Leak. We all have our favourite characters we enjoy reading about. Memory Leak was just an explanation as to how the rumor got out, and was inspired by a contest on the Sonic Amino (although I didn't write it in time to enter!) So it's nothing too major. The stories themselves can be read stand-alone, as there's not too much of a link between them except character progression. Are there any other characters you like? Book 3 doesn't include Infinite, I'm afraid. It's about Team Datastream trying to find a cure to a 'mysterious event' spreading across Mainframe. It also brings back certain space pirates ;)**

**Thanks everyone! Please R&R! =D**


	43. Sleepless Chapter 20

**A/N - There's another three chapters left after this one, so it's very likely there'll be a hiatus between the end of Judge and the start of Book 3. I've just not got enough of a buffer on it. Please bare with me.**

**Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Twenty

Pitch black. The streets were pitch black, and empty. Shards of glass littered the floor from the dead lamps above, crunching under heavy boots.

'Shadow…'

The black hedgehog trailed his fingers along the cold wall, blank eyes fixed on the road ahead. A few cleaning drones crossed his path, oblivious, too intent on cleaning up the rubble that littered the sidewalk. He paid them no heed, they weren't his targets.

He paused at a fork in the road and turned his head towards the left. The residential district.

'Shadow…'

That's where his target was waiting.

...

Amy marched on ahead of her friends, with her mallet still clutched at her side. On high alert, but she had one goal in mind.

"Do we really need to stop by your apartment first?" Sonic asked. "It's seriously slowing us down."

"Yes," she said. "Like I said before, I want to change out of this dress! It smells like a toilet!"

"Well you will go waltzing around in the sewer." Sonic flashed her a playful grin.

Amy sighed at him and shook her head. "We found evidence that Shadow is lurking down there, didn't we? But it doesn't mean I want the smell clinging to my dress and quills."

"Shower too, then, eh?" Sonic shrugged and exchanged glances with Tails. "We're gonna be a while."

"I can shower fast," said Amy. Then added, under her breath, "But I don't think I'll ever be clean."

Tangle laughed and smacked her on the back. "Oh man, you're seriously not an experienced Sewer Adventurer."

"It has a name now?" Amy grunted.

"Yup! Just made it up!"

Whisper shook her head and continued on beside Amy, silently.

The pink hedgehog slowed as she reached her apartment block and rummaged in her pocket for her card key.

"We're all going to get cleaned up," she said, "and then we can continue looking for Infinite and Shadow. Okay?"

"Okay." Sonic rolled his eyes. "It's not as if both of them are just gonna drop outta the sky any time soon, right? What's an extra five minutes."

Tails fixed his friend in an icy blue stare. "You think this is only going to take five minutes?"

Amy ignored them, and held the door open for her friends to go ahead of her. She joined them all in the elevator and the group was silent - save for T-Pup's panting - as it carried them up to her floor. When she reached her door, she found to some surprise that it was unlocked.

She looked up at Tangle and Whisper. "Did one of you forget to lock it up after you left?"

Tangle shook her head rapidly while Whisper frowned at the door. The wolf scooted Amy aside and went in ahead of her, reaching inside her coat. Then she relaxed, and Amy peered over her shoulder. Her heart did a somersault when she spotted a familiar jackal, still kitted out in his mask.

Infinite stood beside the sofa, braced to attack. When he spotted the three girls, his expression softened into one of relief. But it was only fleeting as his muzzle creased and he flashed his canines.

"What are you still doing here?!" he barked.

Amy opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't give her the chance. In a flash he was before her, and she couldn't decide if he was happy to see her or wanted to warp her right out of her own apartment.

"You should be in North Cipher by now!" he snapped.

"Relax, bro!" Sonic pushed his way into the room. "They're with us! We won't let anything happen to them, right Tails?"

Infinite glared down at the two soldiers. "Oh, because you two are perfectly fit to handle that Judge!" He threw his arms into the air and turned back towards the sofa. "I am so relieved!"

Tangle placed an arm around Amy's shoulders. "Well, isn't this a lovely reunion!" She gave her friend a squeeze then pointed towards the corridor. "I guess I'll go grab a shower! Better get this ball rollin', eh?"

Infinte watched her go, seething. Sonic took a step towards him and lifted his hands.

"There's no need for the sarcasm, bro!" he said. "None of us knew what we were dealing with when we encountered that robot. If we can figure out a way to defeat it, then it's totally possible! Either that, or we get to Shadow first and render its mission moot."

"Exactly!" said Amy, drawing the jackal's eye. "That's all the more reason for me to stay! If there's more of us looking, then-"

"Absolutely not!" Infinite's yell dragged the whole room back into silence. He sank into the sofa and placed his head in his hands. "I can't have you here, Amy. You need to get somewhere safe, miles away from that murderous robot."

Amy balled her hands into fists. "What? And leave you alone to fight it like this?!"

"I can handle it!" he snapped. "I just… need to figure out how…"

Sonic inclined his head on one side and made a thoughtful noise. Then he turned to Tails. "What do you think, bro? Any ideas?"

The fox had pulled out his computer and was mulling over it, while his robot dog watched obediently beside him.

"It's certainly a priority," said Tails. "Casualties are mounting up by the day. Mostly GUN soldiers and robots given there are hardly any citizens left in the city now. It clearly wants every distraction out of its way."

Sonic grimaced, and Amy slumped against the wall.

"It attacked us in the park," said Whisper. "It's relentless. Almost unstoppable."

"Exactly. It's only 'almost' unstoppable," Tails explained. "All EggTech can be stopped. The question is 'how'? A solid solution would be to zap it with enough electricity to short its circuits, but most high grade robots are equipped to deal with such attacks. That way, they can't be so easily swatted aside by the criminals they're sent to detain." Tails looked up from his computer to meet Sonic's eyes. "There will be somewhere on the Judge's body that's not immune to electricity, but only those who created it will know its weak spot. It will take a lot of research to narrow down, so I suggest another method entirely to put an end to its warpath."

"I could tear it apart from the inside out," said Infinite. "But I'll need the strength to do it. Even a short fight is wearing me down at the moment."

Tails turned towards the jackal. "If I could obtain its data chip, I could reprogram it. So long as it's distracted, I could get onto its back and locate it."

Infinite narrowed his eyes at the fox. "You wanna use me as bait?"

"No. A distraction."

"It's the same thing!"

"On the contrary. A 'distraction' survives."

"Not necessarily," said Whisper.

Tails stared blankly at Whisper, and she shifted under his gaze, diverting her eyes to the tattered wall.

As the silence spread over them, the shower hissed into silence and Tangle's voice echoed from the hallway;

"Shower's free!"

Whisper looked at Amy and she shook her head, nudging the wolf towards the corridor. Whisper went with some reluctance, casting Tail's a nervous glance.

Amy looked around the room at those remaining then cleared her throat.

"May I suggest something?" she said.

All eyes fixed on her, but Infinite's unimpressed glare stood out from the rest. She did her best to ignore it.

"If any of us are going to be a distraction, they have to be able to keep out of its way. Give it a real run for its money. If we're going to stand any chance of survival - and I mean all of us - there can be no foolish sacrifices. The 'distraction' will need to have a lot of stamina."

Sonic laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I've got that by the bucket! All right. I'll be the distraction."

Amy's jaw dropped. "That's not what I… I was going to suggest-"

Infinite stood up quickly before she could finish her sentence. He narrowed his eyes at her, and it was clear he knew exactly what she was going to say. "I'm with the Blue Freak. That guy's fast. He can keep out of the way of its bullets."

Sonic threw his arm around Infinite, causing him to flinch. "And you can help Tails locate the Judge's data chip."

Infinite muttered under his breath and shrugged the hedgehog off.

Sonic was unfazed. He flashed everyone a grin and folded his arms. "So what's the plan then? Grab a bite to eat and speed off to find that thing?"

Amy opened her mouth to remind him she still desperately wanted to get freshened up, but T-Pup leapt to its feet, ears pricked and swiveling. Its usually happy expression had stiffened, and its eyes lit up, probing the far corners of the room. It let out a worried whine. Then a growl, standing firm before its handler.

The air beneath the window wobbled and distorted, and a pink mist spread out across the carpet like fog. A black form appeared in the middle of it, expanding out into the form of a hedgehog.

Amy let out a small squeak of fear and she ducked closer to the GUN soldiers.

Sonic blinked a few times. "Shadow?"

Tails reached for his weapon and gave Sonic a nudge, prompting him to reach for his own.

"You!" Infinite roared and leapt over the back of the sofa, dropping onto all-fours before Tails. "Back off! He's mine!"

The black hedgehog's crimson eyes were like empty voids, and his very presence made the room feel cold and unwelcoming. He turned his blank stare towards Infinite, and his claws began to glow red. The ground wobbled beneath Infinite and crimson spikes erupted from the carpet. He vanished into thin air before they gored him, and reappeared behind Shadow. He launched a kick into his back, but Shadow vanished in a poof of pink smoke. A black cannonball dropped from the ceiling, smashing into Infinite's shoulders. He crumpled to the ground, and Shadow leapt from him, skidding across the floor. The carpet turned black beneath his feet from hidden flames on the soles of his boots.

Sonic and Tails cut before Amy, firing their rifles at the hedgehog. But the bullets glided through him into the wall as he vanished into thin air once more.

Infinite snarled at the soldiers. "I told you! He's m-!"

He flew sideways as bloody spittle left his mouth. Shadow stood where Infinite had been crouching, his fist clenched at his side. Infinite scrambled onto all-fours again and bared his canines at Shadow. The ground lit up beneath his hands and the carpet warped, forming ripples like an unruly ocean. The black hedgehog teetered, then rose into the air in a crimson bubble.

"Whoa! What's all the commotion?!" Tangle raced back into the living room, wrapped in a pink dressing gown. She skidded to a halt when she spotted Shadow and the warped carpet. "Wow! Is that-?"

The waves began to spread further into the living room, bouncing the sofa and coffee table. Amy and her friends staggered backwards away from the battleground. Her mallet had found itself in her hands, but with the floor wobbling and swaying as it was, she couldn't get anywhere near the warring duo.

Infinite stood, leaving the floor as it was. He'd noticed it had put them off.

He fired a glance in their direction and snarled. "Go!"

Amy clutched her mallet tighter. "We're not leaving you!"

"I said go!"

No sooner had the words left Infinite's mouth, the front door vanished, leaving behind a seamless wall. He turned his glare back onto Shadow. The hedgehog lowered his hand and narrowed his eyes at Infinite.

"Leave them out of this!" Infinite roared, launching himself towards Shadow.

The hedgehog blinked out like a light, sending Infinite careening into the wall beneath the window. Shadow reappeared behind him and lunged forwards, his claws extending into daggers.

"Is that Shadow?!" Tangle squeaked, her eyes sparkling.

Sonic backed her into the wall. "Not the time, Tangle. Can you get a good aim, Tails?"

The fox aimed his gun and fired, sending a spray of bullets directly between Infinite and Shadow.

Shadow came to a sudden stop as the bullets skimmed his nose. He snapped his head around towards Sonic, his eyes empty and chilling. Then he raised his hand and sent the five crimson daggers towards the group.

Sonic and Tails scattered, and Amy turned to avoid it. But one caught her dress shoulder and snagged, dragging her back into the wall and pinning her there. She screamed as she tried to tug herself free.

"Amy!" Infinite roared.

He leapt before Shadow, barring him from the living room. But the hedgehog made no attempt to enter it. His attention was back on the jackal.

"I said leave them out of this!" Infinite screamed.

His right arm morphed and stretched into a deadly blade resembling a halberd. He cleaved it through the air, smashing it down onto where Shadow had been standing. Infinite turned, spotting the hedgehog, and leapt at him, hacking and cleaving away. But each strike missed. Shadow didn't appear to be fighting back, just throwing himself around like a false target. Infinite let out a frustrated roar and spun, cleaving sideways as Shadow appeared behind him. The hedgehog vanished again, and Infinite's halberd found itself buried deep in the wall. He struggled to tug it free, then froze. A deep hum filled the air, growing louder and louder and more shrill until it reached a crescendo.

Amy gasped and pointed her free hand. "There!"

A small red cube hovered by the jackal's ear. He ducked away, letting his arm return to normal, then rolled. The screech stopped, followed by an almighty bang. The entire room shook with the impact, and Amy clutched her hands over her ears.

Tangle appeared beside her and yanked the red dagger free with her tail. The hedgehog muttered a thanks, nursing a scratch on her shoulder.

"I think we need to bail," said Tangle. "We're no use here."

Sonic joined them, keeping his eyes on the battlefield. "I think your friend is right."

What was left of the kitchenette was in a frenzy, crimson light flickering through it like a sinister disco. Infinite could barely keep up with Shadow, and the toll his powers were taking on him showed. Every time he landed he was almost gasping for breath, but Shadow wasn't tiring at all.

"Okay," Amy said weakly. "But how?"

Her eye wandered to where the door had been. Their only other options were the window, which was an impossibility given the state of the room, or to rush to the bedroom and climb out there.

Infinite let out a pained grunt and struck the floor on his back. Whatever had happened, he was incapacitated. Shadow stood over him, his entire body glowing red, yet every inch of him seemed black. Except for his eyes.

Infinite lay beneath his feet, panting heavily. The glow from his Phantom Ruby had faded, but his will to fight was still with him. He bared his canines and wrapped his fingers around the hedgehog's ankle. Shadow didn't even flinch.

"You're gonna tell me exactly what your problem is," Infinite gasped. "Or I'm gonna beat it out of you."

Shadow's right hand lit up brighter than the rest of him, and a long spear appeared in it. He aimed at the jackal's throat.

"No!" Amy brandished her mallet and lunged towards them, vaulting the sofa.

Another bang echoed across the room and she flinched, flying blindly across the room.

Shadow flew back from Infinite, crashing into the far wall beside where the door would have been. He slid down it in a daze.

Infinite caught Amy mid fall and settled her on the ground, then he glared at the hedgehog. But Amy's eyes were on the window.

Perched on the windowsill was a wolf wearing a black and white mask. They clutched a smoking pistol in one hand, still aimed at Shadow.

The black hedgehog shifted, running a hand through his quills. The bullet wound in his chest shrank down until it faded away into his fur. When he opened his eyes, Amy stifled a gasp.

No longer lifeless and cold.

They widened, flicking around the room until they finally landed on Infinite.

The jackal grunted and rose to his feet, releasing Amy. "Talk!"

Shadow's wide, fearful eyes remained locked on Infinite. Then he vanished, leaving behind nothing more than a string of corrupted binary.

A momentary silence washed over the room, then Tangle broke it with a squeal. She clasped her hands beneath her chin, jogging from foot to foot as she looked between the spot Shadow had vanished and the now empty window. She leapt across the room, landing beside Infinite.

"Oh man! That was awesome!" she said. "First Shadow shows up, then you're all in there with the bam pow! And then the Guardian Angel appears?! This has got to be the best day ever!"

Tails holstered his weapon and joined Tangle. "I seriously question your idea of 'fun'."

T-Pup gave a whine of agreement, then let its tongue lol out in a worried pant.

"I'm with Tails on this one." Sonic folded his arms and looked around at what was left of the room. "As awesome as it was to see those powers in action, I don't think Infinite, or this apartment, will agree. Besides, I think we need to get everyone out of here pronto. We don't know if Shadow is going to come back."

Amy leant forward on her mallet and brushed back her quills. "About Shadow… did you guys notice anything after the Guardian Angel shot him?"

"Yes," said Infinite bluntly. "He vanished. Via the Chaos Network, if I've sussed him out correctly."

"Okay, then that's the second weird thing." Amy shook her head. "It was his eyes. They… looked different. When he was attacking Infinite, they were empty. But after he was shot, it was like he'd woken up from a nightmare."

"Hmm, yeah." Sonic scratched his muzzle. "I thought that, too. I don't think that guy is fully in control of his faculties."

"Exactly," said Amy. "What if he's not committed these murders at all? What if something is controlling him?"

Infinite stiffened. "What, so you're on his side now?!"

"No!" Amy retorted. "I'm not on anyone's side! If he's innocent, and he's doing these things out of his control, then he needs help!"

"Well that complicates things then, doesn't it!" Infinite snapped. "Conscious or not, he's murdering people with my powers!"

"We don't know this for certain," said Amy. "I'm just going off what I saw. He panicked when he came to."

Infinite folded his arms and frowned down at her. "So what's controlling him then?"

"I…"

Amy blinked as she looked around her apartment. Sonic cocked an eyebrow at the Phantom Ruby and Amy followed his gaze. Her jaw stiffened and she dodged Infinite's eye.

He bared a canine. "You think it's me?"

"No! Just…" She took a steadying breath. "Why does he even have your powers?"

Infinite threw his arms in the air. "I don't know!"

"Then I guess we need to find out, don't we?" said Sonic.

"So now we have a puzzle to solve?" Tangle fist pumped. "Yes! This day just got even more awesome!" She caught everyone's confused gaze. "What? I like puzzles!"

"I see it as yet another hurdle," said Sonic. "First thing's first, we need to find somewhere safe to lay low before we investigate this thing. My theories have been confirmed here. Shadow is clearly not in control of himself, and he needs help. We need to find a way to help him get those powers under control - or stop them entirely - and prove his innocence not just to Mainframe but himself, too."

Everyone, except Infinite, nodded their agreement. Amy looked up at him and he snorted, turning his gaze away.

He shook his head and brushed his mane back from his face. "Things were so much more simple when I thought he was just trying to frame me…"

Whisper shuffled into the room, shaking out her damp jacket as she took in the mess, then stopping beside Tangle.

Tangle placed her hand on one hip and grinned. "Oh boy did you miss a lot!" She caught the wolf's eye and winked. "Don't worry! I'll fill ya in on everythin'!"

...

Shadow staggered to a stop, placing his hand on the cool damp wall to steady himself. Gasping for breath, he doubled over, putting his other hand on his knee.

Exhausted.

What had he been doing? The last thing he remembered, he was sleeping on a roof hidden out of sight. The next, he was waking up in an apartment that looked like it had been hit by a bomb.

Was he that bomb?

He didn't even know what had woken him up in the first place. The fight, the brief pain that exploded across his chest, or the disembodied voice calling to him, telling him to stop.

His entire body trembled, and not just from the fatigue. His heart was racing, and he kept one ear turned back towards the street he'd come from. He wasn't sure how much distance he'd put between himself and that apartment. He'd fled blindly, not even giving it much thought. All he'd wanted was to get away, and he'd warped himself into a hydrangea bush on the edge of the city park.

Shadow peered through the stormy mist, squinting at the other side of the road. The neon sign for a coffee shop glared back at him, left on when everyone fled during the evacuation. He was definitely heading away from the residential district, but there was no saying for certain that apartment was actually in it. It could have been over that very coffee shop for all he knew.

He ducked into the alleyway and slumped against the side of a skip, letting his head fall into his hands. At least there wasn't blood on them this time.

That apartment… he recognized some of those people. Sonic, Tails… that jackal. He was fairly certain he'd been fighting that jackal. His lip had been bloody, and his mane in complete disarray. Why?

He peered through his fingers at the wall, dripping with damp and algae. He definitely recognized that jackal. It was hazy, but he was fairly certain it was Infinite. The black fur, white mane… Hadn't Sonic said they shared similar powers?

Shadow wracked his mind. All those murders had clues behind them, pointing to his next target. He hadn't known who any of the victims were besides DotMatrix, but all of them were linked by complex puzzles. So if those powers had led him to that apartment, then could that be where his next victim was? And if so, who?

He tapped his head with his claws, almost digging them into his skull. He'd come around much too early at the more recent crime scene. Had he even set up a clue there?

His eyes widened and the wall turned blurry. The mural! A canine's head…

There were two canines in that room. Well… one canine and one fox. But they looked similar. It could have been either. Unless those powers were deliberately leading him to Infinite? Was that jackal his next target? And if so, why? Why would those dormant powers want to kill him?

Why would they want to kill anyone?

There was every possibility it was nothing to do with his powers moving towards Infinite's like a magnet. At the end of the day, none of those other victims had powers like his. He knew for a fact DotMatrix was rather unspectacular in that regard, so he could rule that out straight away. Infinite was likely 'just another number'.

Just another target on Shadow's radar. Another life he was about to take. But unlike the others, Infinite had fought back.

Why? Why was he any different? Why hadn't anyone else fought back? Or had they, and they'd just failed miserably at the hands of something they had no idea how to deal with?

Too many questions, and it was giving him a headache. He just wanted it all to be over. To return to normal. To stop these mindless killings. After he'd woken up in that school, part of him had deeply hoped it was over. That he'd not do it again. But here he was, fleeing another attempted murder.

At least this time the victim had got away with his life.

Tears pricked Shadow's eyes. He groaned and rolled his head back against the wall. "What's happening to me?"

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	44. Sleepless Chapter 21

**A/N - Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! **

**I've been working on a contest entry for a Pokemon community I'm in, so I've not made any headway with Book 3 this past week. I believe I said in the last chapter there will be a hiatus, so that's definitely going ahead after the final chapters of Judge are posted. I really want Book 3 to be the best it can be, and I can't do that with huge pressure on me to fire out as many chapters as I can a week. Please bare with me. Book 3 is, as best as I can say, going ahead. I've had writer's block with it, but I broke through and so far I've got four complete chapters (I think?) I like to have a nice buffer for my projects that I can fall back on when writer's block hits, or I'm otherwise occupied and can't write.**

**I hope you continue to enjoy Judge, and please look forward to Book 3!**

Chapter Twenty One

Infinite muttered to himself as he marched down the street. The evening's events played over and over in his mind like a stuck record. No where was safe. Shadow had proved that. There was no reason the hedgehog should know where he was hiding, so to just show up in Amy's apartment like that… was he actually drawn to the Phantom Ruby?

If that was the case, then he wasn't a safe person for her to be around. So why was he dragging her across the Beatdrop Capital?

He glanced back at the pink hedgehog as she trotted reluctantly behind him, her small hand clasped in his. Unwillingly. He'd considered using a chain, but he'd said he wouldn't do that again. She wasn't a prisoner. He was getting her to safety, while Sonic and Tails dealt with her friends. Splitting them up was probably a mistake, but together they had proved to be a stubborn force. Once Amy was out of the Beatdrop Capital then she would be safe. There were no trains running back to the station, so returning would be nigh impossible until the evacuation was lifted.

She pouted out her bottom lip as she struggled to keep up with his long stride. She'd put up a fight, but had been silent for the past five minutes realizing arguing was getting her nowhere. Her silence was beginning to upset Infinite greatly, but if he started her off talking again he'd only have to listen to her protests a second time. He didn't enjoy this. He was much happier believing she'd left the city, but no. She had to stick around because of him.

Because of him…

He closed his eyes briefly and looked back towards the street. She wasn't safe. With the way he was, his ability to keep her safe was very unreliable.

His boot struck metal, causing a clang to ring out in the empty streets. He froze, fur on end, as he strained to hear beyond the echo. The remains of a Strider Drone lay across the street, its long legs splayed out at an uncomfortable angle. Its head lay in the mouth of an alley amid a spill of trash from an upturned skip. Bullet shells lay scattered around it along with shattered blue glass from its probing eye.

"Is that-"

Infinite shushed Amy, cutting her off. He turned his head slowly towards the alley, straining his ears beneath his mask.

A shadow bobbed along the wall as metal scraped against stone. Banging. The whir of a machine gun. Then the red glowing eyes of the Judge penetrated through the stormy mist.

Infinite's heart leapt in his chest. He shoved Amy ahead of him towards the other side of the street and between the buildings. Then he fired a glance behind him. The Judge had seen them. It lumbered through the narrow alley, crushing trash and the remains of the Strider beneath its heavy feet.

"Targets recognized," it said. "Both targets are a threat to the mission and must be eliminated."

Amy broke into a sprint, and Infinite raced to keep up with her. The whir of the Judge's machine gun sliced through the air, followed by a spray of bullets. Infinite threw up a barrier. A fraction later and the bullets would have torn through him and his friend. Instead, they bounced off the crimson shield to lie harmlessly on the damp ground. The barrier faded and he followed Amy around the sharp bend.

The pink hedgehog stood with her back to him and her fingers wound in the wire of a fence. A dead end. She turned her head back towards him, staring wide-eyed over his shoulder. The Judge's footsteps echoed through the silence as it marched towards them.

"Calculating targets' ability to escape at one percent." Its gun whirred to life again.

Infinite stared up at the fence. Too high to climb. They'd be shot down like ducks. But beyond it was a wide industrial park, filled with office blocks and storehouses. Enough space to hide and hopefully lose the Judge.

He pulled Amy into him and rose into the air. The Phantom Ruby hummed away in his ears and echoed throughout the buildings. Each rhythmic pulse sapping away what was left of his strength. He landed on the other side, forming a bubble shield around the both of them as the Judge rounded the corner.

Another round of bullets. They clattered off the fence and bounced harmlessly off his bubble. Once the machine gun had whirred to silence, he dropped it and took in a few deep breaths. He nudged Amy ahead of him and raced after her, bracing himself to throw up another shield.

Amy glanced back at him to make sure he was following, then turned sharply towards the office blocks. A small gap offered shelter between them and a warehouse. Deep gashes covered the walls where Project Wreckingball had run rampant. Unsettling, despite it no longer being a threat.

The iron fence rattled and clattered in the distance. Was the Judge climbing it, or dismantling it?

He stopped and turned back towards the opening between the buildings. His shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath. A faint hum rang in his ears as he tried to tap into what little was left of the Phantom Ruby's powers.

"Infinite," Amy said quietly. "We have to keep going."

He snapped his head back towards her and bared his canines. "Then go!"

Her emerald eyes shone with tears. "Not without you."

He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off as the clattering grew more frantic. He glanced back towards the fence, but he could no longer see it through all the buildings.

"You can't fight it like this," she said. "Infinite, please-"

"I'm fine!" he snapped. "Now go!"

"You're not fine! If you were fine, you'd just warp me out of this city! But you can't, can you? So how can you expect to fight this thing?!" Amy reached behind her for her hammer.

Infinite's lip twitched and he let out a low growl. "Don't you dare!"

A loud clang tore through the air, followed by an unsettling clatter as the fence fell away. He took a step back, ushering Amy behind him.

"Go!"

She grabbed his hand and his spine stiffened, pushing his fur on end.

He snapped his head back towards her. "You are seriously starting to-"

Something shone on the edge of his vision and he lifted his head to look over her shoulder. His heart picked up as he spotted a manhole cover, a small speck of light reflecting off its rim.

Again?

The high-pitched whir of the Judge's machine gun reached his ears, driving a sense of urgency. He shoved Amy towards the manhole and pointed. She didn't need instructing. She hoisted the heavy cover away and began the descent, her muzzle creased with disgust.

Infinite threw up another barrier, blocking a barrage of bullets. They bounced off it, and cracks spread across its glassy surface. It was enough to allow Infinite to drop down into the sewer after Amy. The manhole cover blocked out the light and with it the sound of the Judge reloading its weapon.

Infinite landed beside Amy on the metal grate and hugged his arms around himself, panting. That last barrier had done a number on him.

"I was right, wasn't I?" Amy's small voice drew his eye. "You're not fine at all."

She leant back against the wall, hugging her arms as she tried to read his expression in the dark.

"We should have just gone with Sonic and the others," she went on. "It would be a lot safer than trying to escape through this city."

Infinite flinched and turned away. The Judge's footsteps echoed above them, and its metal feet scraped across the manhole cover.

"What if it comes down here?" Amy whispered.

"It won't fit," he replied flatly.

It paced back and forth for a moment, before abandoning the manhole and marching away across the industrial estate. Infinite let out a held breath and ran his hand over his muzzle.

"I think the station is this way." He moved on ahead of her, against the flow of filthy water.

"You're still insisting on that? Doesn't Shadow hide in these sewers?"

Infinite froze and balled his hands into fists. Of course. Shadow. From the frying pan right into the fire…

He took in a steadying breath. "That's all the more reason to make haste, now, isn't it?"

"And what if we run into him?" She pushed herself back from the wall, and he noticed her mallet had found itself in her hands. "You can't fight him off with the way you are now. You're exhausted."

Well… she was right about that.

"Get some rest," she said. "At least here we're right by an escape hatch."

"I'll rest when you're safe." He turned his back on her again. "Now come on."

"Infinite, please! You're actually making things more dangerous by pushing yourself like this!"

He froze, bristling.

"If we run into Shadow or that Judge again, you won't be able to fight them off!" she went on. "You're driving yourself to exhaustion, and if you really believe that I can't fight them then why-"

He spun towards her, baring his canines. "Because I need you safe!"

Her green eyes widened, reflecting the dim light.

He placed his hand against the wall to steady himself. "I can't… bare… knowing that you're still in this city while those two are running rampant. Something in that hedgehog wants to kill me! You saw it! If he got to you…" Infinite paused and ran a hand down his face, letting himself flop against the wall. "You're a weakness."

"Infinite…"

He screwed his eyes shut and jerked his head away.

Amy lowered her mallet and took a step towards him. "If you're that worried, there's safety in numbers… we can go back and join the others."

"Forget it. Shadow's powerful." Infinite dropped his hand but kept his eyes closed. "He can kill five people in one fight without breaking a sweat."

Amy was silent for a moment, but he could feel her eyes on him. "Why do I feel like you're speaking from experience?"

Infinite kicked himself back from the wall. "Come on. We're moving.

Amy trotted to keep up with him and placed a hand on his elbow. He jerked his arm back from her, taking her by surprise.

"Listen to me," she said. "You're exhausted. If you're going to drag me to the train station, then at least get some rest first so you're in fighting form!"

He blinked at her, bewildered. Had she actually just had the audacity to suggest that, after he'd made it very clear the city wasn't safe?!

As if she'd read his mind, she waved a hand towards the manhole cover. "You said it yourself the Judge can't get down here. If we find somewhere quiet and dark to hide, somewhere out of the way, then you can get rested up and I'll keep watch in case Shadow shows up."

His lip twitched back and he trailed his eyes over her. She clutched her mallet before her in both hands, stoic, unmoving, and not a hint of fear in her eyes.

"It's clear to anyone how worn out you are," she went on. "You're practically doubled over. I hate to say this, Infinite, but with you like this, dragging me through the city, I was actually safer in my apartment with my friends!"

Each word was like a hot dagger stabbing him in the gut. His fur stood on end down his neck as fury flared inside him, and he slammed his fist into the wall. A flash of crimson lit up the corridor, and small cracks shot out across the wet stone.

"I'm not weak!" he snapped.

Amy did flinch back then, and her eyes widened. "I never said you were!" She took in a breath and moved closer to him. "Infinite, you're the strongest person I've ever met. But you know yourself something is wrong with your powers. If we were to run into Shadow right now, he'd kill us both!"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I won't let him touch you."

Amy blinked back tears from her eyes and shook her head. "Please… You're scaring me."

Infinite sighed and flopped back against the wall. He dragged his hand over his mask and let out a small groan.

"Fine," he said. "Find somewhere quiet and hidden away, and I'll get that rest you so desperately want me to have."

Amy shook her head and marched past him, carrying her mallet in her right hand as if it were nothing but a feather. Infinite fell into step behind her, hugging his arms around himself. The fact he was becoming used to the stench of the sewer worried him. He'd only just washed the horrid smell off, and the longer he spent down there made him fear it might be forever ingrained in his fur.

Amy was about to turn off the grate into a dark tunnel. He leapt forward and grabbed her shoulder, freezing her to the spot. He ushered her behind him and took the lead, squinting into the darkness. A faint light leaked in from the other side, and the gurgle of water suggested the tunnel lead into another part of the sewer.

A few small squeaks reached his ears, and a rat scurried away along the wall away from them to vanish into a narrow pipe. Nothing flowed from it, but the green residue crusting over it suggested it was used periodically. For what, Infinite didn't want to know.

Amy stopped beside the wall and nodded to a small alcove. "How about here?"

Infinite frowned at her and glanced towards where the rat had vanished.

"We're not too far from the manhole," she said. "And we're not trapped in a dead end either."

Before he could reply, she settled down on the floor and propped her mallet against the wall. He rolled his eyes and flopped down beside her.

"Ten minutes," he said. "That's all."

"If you only need ten minutes, then that's what we'll take," she said.

He glanced up at her from behind his loose mane then brushed it back from his mask. Then he shuffled sideways until he was almost lying down. Amy let out a squeal when she realized he was planning to use her lap as a pillow.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Making sure you wake me up," he said, making himself comfortable. "If Shadow does show up and you plan to fight him, you'll have no choice but to wake me."

"Oh, you're impossible…"

He grunted a noncommittal reply and curled his tail around himself. Amy took in a sharp breath and shifted beneath him. He cracked his eye back open then let out a frustrated sigh.

His mask.

He unclipped it and slipped it over his ears. His entire body was trembling, and he wasn't sure if it was just down to exhaustion.

"Don't look at me," he muttered as he set his mask on the grate beside her.

"I wasn't planning on it." She sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You know… I do appreciate you wanting to look out for me. But you have to look out for yourself sometimes, too."

"I am doing."

"Really? Because it doesn't seem like it."

"Amy… when I watched you walk out of that hotel room, thinking I'd lost you, it really hurt."

"Ouch." She flinched and retracted her hand from his shoulder. "Why are you digging that up all of a sudden?"

"Because if Shadow or Gadget got to you, I could lose you for good. And that would hurt a lot more." He sighed and brushed his mane over his face. "I'm trying to avoid that."

Amy relaxed again and let her hand rest back on his shoulder.

"I already know what it feels like," he went on. "It hurts. One blow after the next. And no matter how many times you experience it, it never gets easier. In fact… it just gets harder." He took in a trembling breath. "That's why I need you safe."

She brushed her fingers over the back of his ear a few times, tickling his fur with her claws. He let out a small sigh, and she took hold of it gently, letting her thumb trace circles over the back. His eyes closed and he relaxed into her lap. No longer trembling.

"I need you safe, too," she said quietly.

Those words stirred something inside him, and he wasn't sure he liked it. It wasn't just a sentiment. Instead it was something that told him she was definitely not going to go willingly.

"I told myself I'd never let myself care for anyone ever again," he said. "Then you burst into my life."

"I believe you burst into mine," she said with some amusement. "Through the window, actually."

He chuckled. "If someone as pink as you can weasel your way in, then I must have been doing something wrong."

"I guess I'm stronger than I look?"

He grunted at that, and she moved her thumb down to the base of his ear. An involuntary purr left his throat.

"It must be pretty lonely," she went on, "I don't imagine it's that easy to shut your heart off to everyone."

He opened his eyes and stared across at the dark wall. "It's impossible."

They sat in silence for a while, and his eyes kept drifting shut as her gentle hand lulled him to sleep. His mind wandered back to those awful days locked away from civilization. Tormented by scientists. Even that hadn't been enough to turn him off from needing contact with others. Even there, he needed it.

"When I was locked in that cell," he found himself saying, "sometimes some of the Phantom Ruby leaked from that detainment collar… Not a lot, but it was enough to make something small. So I'd make myself a little chao to talk to."

Amy shifted and tried to brush his mane back from his face. He jerked his head, letting it flop back over his eyes.

He took in a trembling breath and his voice wavered. "No one wants to be alone forever. Not even a monster like me."

"You're not a monster."

He let out a lone laugh. "I could have been, the way my mind was warping… Those few minutes that chao lasted kept me grounded in reality."

She returned to his ear and settled back against the wall. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"So you know how much it means to me to keep you safe. You're not an imaginary chao. I can't just bring you back." He hugged his arms around himself as his body started shaking again. "You're the first person who's ever got through to me since…" He took in a trembling breath.

"Since…?"

Words wouldn't form. He shook his head, curling up tight until his tail covered his nose. It was as if a dark black cloud had descended on him, suffocating him. His entire body shook uncontrollably as he stared, wide-eyed at the far wall.

Distant screaming echoed in his mind. Frantic and hysterical. Laughing. Mocking. Rage burned through his body, scorching away the panic that had taken over him. Hot tears stung his eyes and a low growl rose in his throat.

'Infinite…'

Those terrible screams faded. His ears twitched, trying to pinpoint the whisper. His entire body heaved as he tried to catch his breath and reel himself back in.

Amy brushed her fingers through his mane, repeating his name until it finally registered. He blinked and took in another trembling breath. He licked his lips, tasting blood where his teeth had dug in.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He gave another glance around the tunnel until he was satisfied no one else was there, then nodded. It wasn't honest, but it saved worrying her further and digging all those memories back up again, triggering another attack. That hadn't happened in many, many years. He flopped onto her lap and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"What for?" he mumbled.

She shook her head and leant back against the wall. "For worrying you like this. I didn't realize-"

"Drop it."

She traced her fingers over his ear again. "Infinite… Why don't you come with me? Let the Judge deal with Shadow."

"Because the Judge is tearing up the Beatdrop Capital and killing citizens," he growled. "It's a malfunctioning robot, and it's not doing its job. Besides… I need to deal with Shadow myself." He rubbed his fingers over his muzzle and grimaced. That black cloud was still hovering over him, threatening to descend again. "You're right. I need some rest. I'm exhausted. We'll talk about this later."

...

Each step was becoming wearisome, and each use of the Chaos Network was severely sapping Shadow's strength. He'd returned to the Casino roof, but Rouge hadn't been there.

Shadow's heart galloped. Where on earth was she?

The mental image of the Judge firing its machine gun at her emerged in his mind, blinding him. He shook his head to dispel it and continued running, searching each and every shadow he passed. Every building appeared empty. The windows untouched, the doors locked shut and needing a card key to enter. Sure, Rouge could hack her way in. She could be in any of them. But why would she hide and not tell him?

Shadow's foot faltered and he stumbled to a halt. He'd scared her, hadn't he? She'd fled.

A deep, repetitive thrum reached his hears and he pawed at them, trying to stop it. As it grew louder and more persistent, he realized it wasn't all in his head. The familiar noise froze his heart in his chest, and he jerked his head towards the rooftops.

Helicopters. Three of them.

He instinctively ducked into the nearest doorway, but their lamps weren't on him. They cleaved through the darkness towards the streets beyond the skyscrapers.

"Lower your weapons!" A loud voice echoed over a speaker. "You are to be apprehended and returned to Eggman."

Bullets tore through the air, causing the helicopters to swerve dangerously to avoid them. A few clipped the rotors of one, disfiguring it. The chopper struggled to stay airborne, and the tiny form of its pilot leapt from the door. Within seconds he was reduced to a bloody smear in the air as he fell to yet another cruel wave of bullets.

Shadow grimaced. He wouldn't be taking that road.

The pilot's pleas and demands to the Judge fell on deaf ears. Shadow turned and bolted, leaving the helicopters to the mercy of the Judge.

No…

He skidded to a halt and looked back at the helicopters. One of them was torn to shreds as the Judge's machine gun sliced through it like cheese.

If he helped… he could redeem himself. Show them he's no heartless killer.

The lone remaining helicopter fired its rockets. But a larger one was fired in return. The helicopter exploded into shrapnel.

Shadow screwed his eyes shut. Such a waste of life. That Judge had to be stopped.

He turned and shot down the street towards it, vaulting over the remains of the fallen helicopters. The judge's eyes trailed a crimson haze in the stormy air as they locked onto him, and he came to a stop before it.

"Target spotted." It leveled its machine gun at him. "You shall be destroyed."

"I'd like to see you try."

Shadow curled and leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding a spray of hot bullets. He brought his blazing foot down towards its head, bouncing off it harmlessly.

The robot turned on the spot, bringing up its gun as a bludgeon. "You are to be judged for murder."

"Me?!" Shadow leapt off the Judge, landing in a crouch in the road. "I think you've taken more lives than I have."

The Judge said nothing. Just the deep whir of its machine gun flaring to life.

And the clatter of metal.

Both Shadow and the Judge turned their heads towards it. A lime green squirrel struggled out from beneath a sheet of metal, pinned in place by the warped rotor of one of the helicopters.

Shadow's heart skipped a beat. "No…"

"Nuisance has not been neutralized." The Judge aimed its gun at the pilot.

Fear flashed in the squirrel's blue eyes. Shadow leapt before them and effortlessly kicked the shrapnel from their body. He snatched them up and dived, wincing as bullets peppered his body. The squirrel shrieked and kicked out. Shadow ignored him, and curled into a protective ball as best he could, keeping the small pilot close to his chest. Then he tapped into the Chaos Network.

His mind was a blank…

He looked up, finding himself no further than the other side of the street. A rocket whistled, lunging straight at them.

Shadow leapt, propelled by the explosion. Rubble rained down around them, pelting his body. A grunt came from the injured pilot, drawing Shadow's eye. Still conscious, but clearly in pain.

The Chaos Network… why hadn't it worked?

Shadow gave one last glance back towards the Judge. Its red eyes cleaved through the swirling dust, and small shards of brick and mortar clinked off its metal hide. A circle of red dots lit up, and another deep whir sliced the air.

"Nowhere to hide," it said.

Shadow turned and bolted, his skate shoes burning the dust beneath his feet. The small squirrel clung to his chest, his screams deafening.

Bullets rained down around them, tearing up the tarmac. Shadow picked up speed and screwed his eyes shut, desperately reaching out to the Chaos Network.

Warped code fluttered through his mind, coiling and curling. But it wouldn't take hold. Panic flooded his body, and his breath came in heavy bursts.

No looking back. Looking back would only slow him down. Only blind him to what lay ahead.

He tried once more, focusing on that code. Nothing. Instead, crimson energy lit up around his body. The machine gun fired again.

Shadow's feet left the floor as he leapt to safety. The world vanished around him. He landed with one toe on the edge of a precarious wall. He teetered forwards, almost dropping the squirrel pilot. His charge screamed, stunning Shadow's ears.

Below them, the empty road snaked and twisted between the buildings. Street lamps lit up the dingy streets, blurred by the stormy mist.

Shadow kicked himself backwards, landing flat on his back on the rooftop of the skyscraper. He released the squirrel, letting him scramble to safety. Warm blood coated Shadow's chest and dyed his white ruff an unsettling red. Memories of the school room haunted him, and he desperately rubbed at his chest with his hands.

Small whimpers came from beneath a picnic table. The blue eyes of the lime green pilot stared back at him, wet with tears. His GUN uniform was tattered and marred with blood, which puddled around him at an unsettling rate.

Shadow crept towards him, but the squirrel ducked further under the table.

"Get away from me!" he squeaked.

Shadow ignored him, reaching beneath the table for the back of his jacket.

The squirrel screamed again. "What do you want from me?!"

"I'm trying to help you!" Shadow snapped. "Now stay still!"

He scanned his eyes over the frantic pilot. The squirrel wasn't going anywhere fast. Shadow couldn't even pinpoint the wound through the mess of his uniform. Shadow stared down at his hands. That strange crimson power could kill. But how? Infinite was believed to be able to warp reality. Did that mean Shadow could use those powers to heal, too?

He focused, trying to bring up that crimson energy.

Nothing.

"What…" the squirrel gasped. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know!" Shadow groaned, turning to look down at him. "I don't know how these powers work! Just… just stop bleeding!"

The squirrel either grimaced, or laughed. Shadow didn't know which.

"Can you call for help?" Shadow asked.

The squirrel shifted, reaching into his coat pocket. A small computer fell out, its screen shattered. Ruined.

Shadow flinched and looked out at the skyscrapers. No more helicopters. No sign of any soldiers. If he left this soldier as he was, he'd surely die. Another life on his hands. All because that Judge wanted him. How was he meant to help this pilot?

He stared down at him, trailing his eyes over his small body. What would Rouge do? She'd dealt with her own wounds many times. Shadow's eyes fell on the squirrel's ruined jacket.

"Remove it," he said.

"What?"

Shadow let out a sigh and reached for the squirrel's uniform. Somehow he managed to remove it, or what was left of it. Although not without some discontent from his 'patient'. It revealed a nasty wound across the squirrel's side, where he'd met with the wreckage from the helicopter. Either the explosion, or how he'd landed.

Shadow yanked the sleeve from the jacket and began wrapping it around the pilot's waist. It wasn't easy. Especially given the length of the sleeve. But he managed to secure it tightly in place. It was soiled immediately.

No use. What else could he do? Shadow sighed as he realized he was this squirrel's only source of contact with GUN. That is, if he could actually access the Chaos Network.

Shadow sat back, trying to let his mind relax. This time, he actually managed to find a way in. One name stood out to him in his mind. One person he could potentially trust. Although the message would have to remain anonymous. Otherwise he might find himself targeted by yet another hunter.

Once the message was out, he shook off the Chaos Network.

"Someone will be here." He pushed himself to his feet.

"Wait." The squirrel's voice was faint. "Where are you going?"

"Away. I'm not waiting around here for GUN to show up."

"… You saved me?"

Shadow narrowed his crimson eyes at him. "You're questioning why?"

The squirrel grimaced, curling into a ball. "You're not really a murderer, are you?"

Shadow stared at him blankly as the squirrel struggled to maintain eye contact.

"They've got it wrong," the soldier said.

Shadow couldn't answer that. Instead, he turned away and leapt over the side of the skyscraper, vanishing into a swirl of warped and corrupted code.

...

"Huh." Sonic blinked at his visor.

The message was as clear as day. 'Wounded soldier on the roof of Maxx Finance.' No sender. And as for the email address, it was just a random string of digits.

It had to be from Shadow.

He called back his visor. "Sorry, Tails. I need to head off and help someone. Can you take these girls out of the city?"

Tails looked back at him from between Tangle and Whisper. "Of course."

Tangle's eyes widened and a huge grin spread across her muzzle. "You're rescuin' someone?!"

"Yes," said Sonic. "So you two-"

"Please let me come with you?!" Tangle grabbed his arm, halting him in his tracks. "Please please please?!"

Sonic let out a nervous laugh. "I'm supposed to be getting you two out of this city, not leading you straight into danger."

"But it might be too much for one person!"

"She's right there," said Tails. "GUN always send paramedics in pairs, and given I need to get them to the station, that leaves you on your own."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "All right, fine."

Tangle clenched her fists. "Yes!"

"But only because your tail could be handy." Sonic wagged at finger at her.

Tangle formed her tail into a 'thumb's up'. "Roger! But I have you know, I also know first-aid."

Before she could blink, Sonic grabbed her in his arms bridal-style and took off along the winding roads. It wasn't too far to the finance tower, not for him anyway. He was there in a matter of seconds. And he didn't stop.

Tangle let out a squeal of delight as he ran straight up the skyscraper's wall. He kicked off the wall surrounding the roof, and landed in a squat.

Tangle leapt out of his arms and bounced around on her tail, whooping.

Sonic stood and the sound of whimpering reached his ears. Huddled beneath a table was a lime green squirrel. The remains of his jacket lay beside him, while a sleeve served as a make-shift bandage.

Tangle stopped beside him, and a small grimace twisted her features.

"Oh boy." Sonic rubbed his hand over his quills. "I was not prepared for this."

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	45. Sleepless Chapter 22

**A/N - Whew, this is a bit of a long chapter! It's the climax, so I hope you enjoy it =D Next weekend will be the last chapter for Judge!**

**Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Twenty Two

Rouge had seen everything. The Judge launching it's attack. The exploding helicopters. Even Shadow taking that pilot to safety. If it weren't for her, they wouldn't have made it. She'd thrown off it's aim. She'd become the bait. Now it pursued her through the streets of the Beatdrop Capital's business district, completely ignoring any pleas she made to get through to it.

To say she was scared would be an understatement. The hulking killer robot rampaging after her had once been her friend. They'd joked together. Even played together. Shared banter and had each other's backs. Now it was out for her blood.

The fact she once knew him made it all the more terrifying. A familiar face that no longer knew who she was. A friend turned enemy.

She corkscrewed out of the way of its flailing arm to land a kick against the exposed wires of its shoulder. The impact caused its fingers to uncurl and drop its weapon. Those fingers instead went for her leg, fastening around it. She slipped it free before its grip could lock, and zipped upwards, wing whistling, towards the rooftops.

Bullets followed her. She twisted, spinning her way through the spiral of weapon-fire. She'd grown familiar with its attacks. Dodging them involved precise timing and knowing which way they were coming from. A combination of sights and sounds, and small disturbances in the air.

That didn't mean she'd come out of it unscathed. Raw welts ran along her limbs where bullets had skimmed her, and her right ear pulsed as fresh blood trickled down her cheek. She swiped a hand across her eye, then turned to dodge yet more machine gun fire.

"Nuisance is proving to be a challenge," said the Judge. "Requesting homing missiles."

Rouge didn't want to wait around to find out if that comment was a joke. The Judge was rampaging. Surely GUN wouldn't adhere to its request? Of course, she was one of their targets. If they knew it was for her, then maybe they'd give in?

She zipped between the lamp-posts, making her way towards the cross roads. Hopefully she'd find an open window to cut through, and lose the robot?

Two mainframers emerged from one of the forks, and a pair of blue eyes locked onto her. The twin-tailed fox reached for his gun as he looked past her.

"Turn back!" she shrieked.

A missile whistled overhead and she twisted, dragged slightly after it as she was caught in its slipstream. It struck the corner building with a mighty boom, blowing the trio and T-Pup into the road towards the Judge. Rubble clattered down before them, creating a barrier between them and safety.

Tails clambered off the wolf, swiftly satisfied she was unharmed. Although not a hint of concern was etched on his young face. Instead, T-Pup sniffed around her and helped her to her feet.

Rouge followed Tail's blank stare towards the oncoming Judge. He then nudged the wolf and pointed towards one of the buildings, now vacated of its door.

"Go," he said, reaching for his weapon. "Take T-Pup."

A railgun. Rouge remembered those, not that she'd ever been trained to use one. If that struck home, Omega would be reduced to nothing but scrap.

He followed after the wolf and T-Pup, keeping his back to them and his aim on the Judge. A shrill screech rose like a crescendo, and Rouge realized with horror that his weapon was activating.

She shot down towards him, bracing herself to shout, but her 'don't!' was cut off as hot bullets tore through her tail and skimmed her legs.

Tails leapt and rolled, firing his railgun. A blinding flash lit up the road, followed by the sound of something small slicing effortlessly through metal. Rouge blinked to clear her vision, and she spotted the Judge staggering backwards. Its right hand was crippled, missing two of its fingers. One, she was somewhat relieved to see, being its trigger finger. Its machine gun lay on the ground beneath its feet.

"Tails!" Rouge fluttered towards the fox, wincing with the effort. "Don't destroy him, he's my friend."

Tails glanced sideways at her, and leveled his railgun for another attack. "You're wounded. You should join Whisper."

Rouge tutted at that. "Please! Listen to me. He was once on my team. He doesn't remember who he is! If we can-"

"I said go and join Whisper."

"No!" Rouge folded her arms. "Distract him, and I'll grab his AI chip. I know where it is!"

"So do I. Get out of the way."

The railgun fired again.

The Judge had retrieved its weapon in its crippled hand. It used it as a shield, meeting the railgun's projectile. The impact set off the weapon, creating a spray of bullets as the Judge turned. They rained down haphazard around the wide road, scattering Tails and Rouge. The whir from its weapon intensified, and the entire thing exploded, spraying shrapnel. The Judge tossed it aside and reached with its good hand to grab its rocket launcher.

A flash of blue struck its hand, searing the surface. It turned its head towards the rooftops. Perched on a small cafe roof was a dainty wolf, but her face was hidden behind a black and white mask. She fired again, but the robot shrugged her off.

"Nuisances will be eradicated." It stepped over Tails, who was waiting for his railgun to ready itself. "Calculation - one missile. Target - chemical warehouse."

"Chemical warehouse?" Rouge's ears swiveled back and forth and she sniffed the air.

Then her heart sank.

The warehouse was right beside them, where Tails was arming his gun. He abandoned his railgun, and dived across the road. He caught Rouge, barreling her through the window of a small factory.

The missile fired, striking the warehouse. The explosion was followed by a flash of flames that engulfed that building and the cafe beside it. Explosion after explosion shook the foundations of the factory, and cracks leapt across the ceiling.

Rouge's ears drooped as she watched them. Small puffs of dust leaked between them, and bits of plaster rained down, bouncing off her head.

She pushed herself painfully to her feet. "I don't think we're safe in here, hon."

"Affirmative."

Tails' twin-tails twirled together, and he rose into the air. The pair made their way to the back of the factory, where another window waited. It was already cracked due to the explosion. Tails reached into the back of his coat and pulled out a sharp knife. He smashed the handle against the glass, shattering it. Then he smoothed out the jagged edges.

He stood aside for Rouge to evacuate, then followed her through. The ceiling caved behind them, followed by a massive loom. Rouge flinched. It had been close.

She quickly surveyed the battlefield, now shrouded in dust and flames. The small wolf that had aided them leapt across the lower rooftops, firing her laser at the Judge. How she'd missed being caught in that, Rouge had no idea. But her weapon was having little effect.

"I think she's trying to distract it." Tails hovered beside Rouge, watching the wolf's antics. He brandished the deadly-looking blade. "Join her. I'll remove its AI chip."

"Are you serious?" Rouge asked.

"Of course. You're in no fit state to do it."

A smile spread across Rouge's muzzle. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet."

She chuckled. "What? You have doubts?"

"I've calculated a fifty-seven percent chance of success."

"Then let's try and get that closer to one hundred, eh?"

Rouge fluttered her wings and shot down towards the road to join the wolf. The Judge spotted her instantly. It brandished its missile launcher, but as a bludgeon. Rouge narrowly dodged it, pirouetting in the air before landing beside the wolf.

"Out of ammo," the wolf said quietly.

Rouge nodded. "Then let's keep him busy while Tails tries to disable him?"

The wolf nodded once and fired. The laser bounced off the wires between the joints of its good hand. It brought the missile launcher down toward them, and the pair scattered. Rouge looked back and yelped, curling into the air to avoid the missile launcher. It bounced off the concrete and smacked into the crumbling wall of the factory.

Without a weapon, the Judge was reduced to using its hands alone. It flailed, swiping at Tails as he tried to gain access to its back. The wolf's lasers bounced off its scuffed hide, doing little to draw its attention to her.

She was no threat. Tails with his metal cleaver, however, was.

Rouge flew into action, joining the wolf's side once more. The Judge ignored her, instead swatting at Tails like one would a pesky fly.

"What can we do to distract it?" Rouge asked.

The wolf fired off another string of lasers. They struck it in the elbow joint, and the wires frayed. Its crippled hand went limp as its arm bent at an unnatural angle.

Rouge's jaw dropped. "You disabled it!"

The Judge's red eyes narrowed on them. "Nuisances must be eradicated!"

It swung its good arm down, swiping at the floor. Rouge and the wolf tried to flee, but it caught the both of them in its fingers. Rouge flailed, kicking out with her wounded legs. The wolf grimaced, her sharp teeth showing around the edge of her mask. She tried to tug her arms free, but both were pinned to her sides.

The pair turned to look at Tails, but there was no sign of him. The Judge's grip tightened, and Rouge took in a sharp breath. It was a mistake. Pain shot through her ribs and she coughed. They were lifted high above it's head, then its entire body went limp. Its fist unclenched, and Rouge and her ally were dropped towards the ground.

Rouge beat her wings frantically, and grabbed hold of the wolf, lowering them both onto the tarmac.

The Judge had sagged, sat in a crouch. Tails leapt from its back, twirling his metal cleaver in one hand. In the other, he held a small black disk.

He leant against the Judge and glanced up at it. "Told you I knew how to deactivate these things."

Rouge gave him a small smile and stepped towards him. "Thanks, hon."

He held out his hand to stop her before she could shower him with sentiments. "You should find Shadow now, and get your wounds looked at."

Rouge blinked. "Wait… what?"

"You and Shadow need to get far away from here. You're both wanted."

"Aren't you and Sonic looking for us?"

"We were. But then we encountered Shadow. He tried to kill Infinite, but it was pretty clear that it wasn't actually him."

Rouge raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"He's a puppet with something pulling his strings. When he came to his senses, he panicked and fled." Tails sheathed his blade and pushed himself back from the robot. "I'm not going to arrest an innocent man. If I turn him over now, GUN will kill him. And they'll kill you, too, for being an accomplice."

"So what… you're telling us to leave the Beatdrop Capital?"

"And tell no one where you are going, yes."

"All right." She nodded towards the robot. "But what about Omega?"

"The cleaners will come for it."

She shook her head, eyes widening. "No! That's unacceptable. He's my friend. I thought he was gone for good. If we can save him-"

Tails stared at her, unmoved.

Rouge sighed and her shoulders sagged. "He gave his life to save mine and Shadow's. The least I can do is save his, right?"

"It's a robot."

"Maybe to you. He's more than just a robot to me."

Tails' arm fell at his side and he shrugged. "Fine. I'll take it back to my warehouse and see if I can find any data that can be redeemed, that is no threat to Mainframe. But I'm promising nothing."

"I believe something of him is still on there." Rouge nodded to the data chip.

"GUN usually erase all personality data for rebellious robots."

Rouge smirked and folded her arms, meeting the fox's eyes. "Why do I feel like there was going to be a 'but' following that sentence?"

"GUN robots don't usually malfunction." Tails twirled the data chip in his fingers as though he were examining it. "This whole thing suggests conflicting personality data."

"Okay. Well if you're a genius, then I have faith you can restore him." She winked. "And Shadow and I will return to collect him."

"If I can restore it, it will find you itself."

"The Chaos Network will be the safest way to get him out of the Beatdrop Capital unseen. I mean, people are gonna recognize this guy."

"I know what I'm doing. Now go."

Rouge pouted playfully. "No need to be so cold."

She laughed and took off, waving farewell.

Tails watched her go, then pocketed the AI chip. Sonic landed beside him and dropped a grinning Tangle onto the floor. The hedgehog let out a long whistle as he eyed the disabled Judge.

"How did you manage to take this guy down?" he asked.

"I had some help," said Tails.

"Oh?"

"Rouge and the Guardian Angel."

Tangle let out a loud squeal and grabbed Tails by both hands. "She was here?!"

Tails removed himself from her and brushed her off. He pulled his computer from his pocket and summoned the Tornado. Strapping Omega to his plane was the only way to feasibly carry it back to his workshop.

"What about Whisper?" Tangle went on. "Wasn't she with you?"

"I'm here…" Whisper poked her head out from the building she'd been hiding in. T-Pup stood at her feet, tail wagging.

Tangle bounced over to her. "Did you see her?!"

Whisper looked away and shook her head.

"Oh man!" Tangle threw her arms in the air. "Both times she's shown up you've missed her!" She turned her grinning face to Tails. "So tell me! How cool was she this time?"

Tails ignored her, and the lemur's grin fell. She shook her head and went off in a huff, ranting. Tails looked up as Whisper moved over to him, looking up at Omega with fake curiosity. She caught Tails' stare and grimaced, turning her face from him.

"You know?" she whispered.

He nodded and returned to tracking his plane.

"Please don't tell anyone?" Whisper pleaded.

"Why would I?" he said flatly.

At her feet, T-Pup beamed up at her, tongue lolling, and his tail turning into a blur behind him.

...

Rouge zipped through the underground tunnels, lit faintly by the lights leaking in from the maintenance tunnels. Shadow was just ahead of her, sprawled on the steps of a derelict subway station. He looked up when he heard her wing whistling, and she landed beside him, glancing around at the crumbling platform and weeds sprouting around the train tracks.

"It's been a long time since we hid out here," she said.

Shadow grunted and ran his hands over his face.

"After this place got stormed by GUN soldiers, I thought we'd never see it again," Rouge went on. "It still feels a little eerie. Why here of all places?"

"Because GUN are too preoccupied with events above ground." Shadow's voice was muffled by his hands. "And I don't think they'd ever expect us to return here after last time."

"Well, if that's the case, you were on a track record to proving them right." She flopped down on the stairs beside him. "You look rattled. What's happened?"

Shadow lowered his hands and sighed. "I ran into the Judge. I probably would have beaten it too if I hadn't got distracted by some wounded fighter pilot."

Rouge's jaw went slack. "You saved someone?"

"I wasn't just gonna let him die, was I?" Shadow jammed his thumb into his chest. "I'm the reason that Judge is here in the first place!"

Rouge shook her head. "But Shadow, he could have tagged you."

"You don't think I didn't check?" Shadow shook his head and leant back on his hands. "That would have been some thanks for saving his life."

Rouge smiled and let out a small laugh. "Let's hope that little act of kindness swings things in your favor?"

Shadow tutted and looked away from her.

"Anyway." She shuffled around on the step to face him. "You don't need to worry about the Judge anymore. Tails and I took care of it, with the help of some mysterious wolf. It's gone."

Shadow stiffened and looked over his shoulder at her. "You destroyed it?"

"Kinda." Rouge shrugged. "Tails is gonna take it back to his workshop and try to restore Omega's memories."

"I thought Sonic and Tails were against us!"

"They were, until they saw you fighting Infinite," Rouge explained. "They know it's not you, Shadow. They're our allies."

Shadow scoffed. "Sure, for now. What if they decide to program Omega to work for them and turn us in? Then we'll have a massive robot on our tails again!"

Rouge opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She'd nothing to say to that. Perhaps he was right?

He waved towards the tunnel exit. "I say we grab Omega and reprogram him ourselves. Leave this city, find somewhere quiet. The mountains or something."

"Sure, that sounds great, Shadow. But what do you know about repairing and reprogramming a robot?"

"I spend a lot of time in the Chaos Network." He leant back against the stairs. "I can read up on it and learn something."

Rouge shook her head at that. "Really, Shadow-"

"I don't trust them." He narrowed his eyes at her. "They said themselves once I was proved innocent they'll be after us again."

Rouge stared back at him, letting his words sink in. Then she nodded. "Fine. We'll retrieve Omega. Then we'll put this city behind us."

...

Infinite yawned again, stretching so his back popped. It had been a good nap. He was no longer slumping along. No longer wildly irritable. Yet Amy still tutted at his behavior.

He looked back at her over his shoulder and paused. "Is there a problem?"

"I just think you could have rested for longer," she said. "We were safe where we were. Goodness knows where this tunnel leads."

"It's away from the sewer." He turned to continue on. "And I saw train tracks leading along it a few meters back."

Amy glanced back down the tunnel. "Well they're gone now."

"Wrong." Infinite paused beside the edge of the platform and crouched, peering over the edge into the darkness. "They're right there."

Amy tensed, ready to drop her hammer and grab him perchance he fell. But she didn't voice her worries. Instead, she inched closer to try and spot what he was looking at. He gave her a playful grin and stood back up.

"Bad night vision?" he teased. "Come on. If we keep following them, we might reach Beatdrop Station."

Amy huffed and adjusted her grip on her mallet before trotting after him. "I love how you're so sure this is going to get us there."

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, sugar."

"You clearly don't know where you're going."

"Following train tracks." He flashed a canine at her. "Now keep it down. We might not be alone down here."

"Well there's no maintenance drones," she muttered, glancing over the cracked flooring and long-expired lights.

"That doesn't mean there's nothing lurking," he said.

They went on a bit longer, following the path until a faint light appeared ahead of them. It twinkled off the ancient metal tracks, almost leading a trail ahead of them. Infinite froze, sniffing at the air. Musty. It definitely didn't lead outside. He hugged the wall, following it until shapes emerged from the shadows. The platform widened out, rising up into a flight of stairs. They led to a bricked-up entrance that at some time or another would have led into a subway station. Stringy plants sprouted between oily gravel, clambering over the iron train tracks.

"This looks like an abandoned station," said Amy. "I didn't think any still existed-"

Infinite reached out and pressed his hand over her mouth. His eyes remained on the stairs, leering. Two figures sat there, silently. Ears pricked. Eyes searching. Infinite didn't recognize both of them, but he definitely recognized the black hedgehog.

Shadow.

The very hedgehog who had killed his friends, tried to frame him, and tried to take his life. This time, he wasn't going to get away.

Crimson energy lit up Infinite's body and he released Amy, clenching his hand into a fist. "Get back into that tunnel."

Shadow leapt from his perch and turned to face Infinite, arms spread defensively.

The bat moved to stand behind him, ready to leap into action if needed. Not that she was n any fit state to do so. Her legs were crusted with blood, some of which still dripped freely.

She blinked with surprise. "Is that-?"

"Get out of here, Rouge," Shadow told her. "I don't like that look in his eye."

The black hedgehog took a step back, keeping his focus on Infinite. The jackal advanced, rage bubbling inside him with each slow step.

"Planning to run, are you?" he sneered. "You're not getting away from me this time, hedgehog. Not until I drag some answers out of you!"

The Phantom Ruby pulsed in Infinite's ears as crimson cubes formed around his right hand.

"Answers?" Shadow's ears twitched and his eyes went to the cubes. "I don't have any. I was hoping you could tell me what's going on!"

"Oh were you?" Infinite let out a sadistic chuckle. "Was that what you were doing when you tried to kill me earlier?! When you killed my friends?!"

Infinite launched the cubes towards Shadow. They warped and twisted into a corkscrew spear, spinning towards him. He leapt aside, letting it glide past him to crash into the floor. Rouge let out a squeak and fluttered away from the debris, her wing whistling in the musty air.

"Rouge!" Shadow barked. "I told you to get out of here!" He looked up at Infinite as the jackal advanced. "I don't know what you're talking about! What friends?"

"Don't make me laugh," Infinite spat. "I've worked it out, Shadow. All this started after I got out of that cell! You're from the same world I am, and you're just trying to finish the job!"

He brought up another spear and slammed it down onto Shadow. It narrowly missed as the hedgehog rolled to the side and vanished over the edge of the station platform.

"Infinite, please!" Amy pleaded. "You don't need to fight him!"

"Go!" Infinite shouted over his shoulder.

He spread his arms, engulfing Amy in a pink mist. She flew backwards into the tunnel, squealing and flailing her limbs. Shadow leapt from the tracks in a spinning ball of black spikes. He struck Infinite in the side of the head, sending him sprawling over the platform. The wind whistled overhead as Rouge shot over them towards where Amy had vanished. Infinite followed her with his eye, but a punch to his jaw blurred his vision. He snapped his eye back onto Shadow's sneering face.

Infinite brought his knee up into the hedgehog's gut, causing him to keel over. Infinite threw him off himself then channeled the Phantom Ruby into a kick, sending Shadow whirling into the concrete steps. He charged after him, aiming to catch the hedgehog before he landed. Corrupt code swirled out around Shadow, but it vanished and he struck the steps hard on his back. Infinite stood over him, surrounded by crimson energy. A look of panic crossed the hedgehog's face.

Fear.

Once, Shadow had stood over him after decimating his entire troops. Now, the tables had turned.

"What?" Infinite nudged his mask back into place and chuckled. "Can't escape? Good." He picked Shadow up by his neck and glared into his eyes. The hedgehog flailed, clawing at Infinite's gloves. "Now you know how my friends felt." He tossed him aside like a ragdoll towards the train tracks.

"Stop!"

Amy raced across the platform and cut between Infinite and Shadow. She stood with her arms spread, no longer holding her mallet.

Infinite stared down at her. "Move."

"No!" She shook her head and met his eyes. "You're like a cat with a mouse! Stop this! There's nothing here that can't be sorted out with words!"

Infinite's fur bristled and he clenched his fists. "You weren't there!"

"Neither was he!"

Amy's shoulders heaved as she tried to catch her breath. Infinite glared down at her, his canines poking from his lips on instinct. Shadow slowly sat up behind her, grimacing and rubbing his shoulder.

"Your little friend's right, hon." Rouge landed beside Infinite and folded her arms. "He's not from your world. Whoever you think you're fighting, it's not him."

Infinite lifted his head and leered at the two girls. "You don't know that."

Shadow stood up and placed a hand on Amy's shoulder, scooting her aside. But his eyes never left Infinite.

"Forget it," said Shadow. "He won't listen to reason, so I might as well fight him."

Rouge shook her head. "But Shadow…"

"If I don't, he'll just be another hound on my trail," Shadow explained. "Besides, I want to know what's happening to me." He glanced at the bat. "Take his friend and hide. There's no sense in more lives being lost."

Infinite's lips curled back and he growled at Shadow. A bad choice of words.

Rouge grabbed Amy and dragged the reluctant hedgehog back towards the tunnel. Once she'd moved, Infinite noticed Shadow's left hand was glowing red. Before the jackal could blink, Shadow flicked it towards him.

"Chaos Spear!"

A crimson spear struck the ground at Infinite's feet, and it erupted beneath him. He flew back from Shadow with a grunt, landing hard on his back. When he opened his eyes, Shadow was above him, feet blazing. He struck Infinite hard in the chest, and sparks bounced off the Phantom Ruby.

Infinite grabbed Shadow's ankle and spun him away from him. The hedgehog landed in a crouch, steadying himself with one hand on the floor. He doubled back, charging towards Infinite.

The jackal rolled, letting Shadow glide past him. Infinite raised his hand, and crimson spikes leapt from the floor, spearing Shadow as he shot through them.

Shadow flinched and froze, vanishing into thin air. Wisps of computer code faded away where he'd stood. He appeared again above Infinite and struck him in the back. Then he vanished again. Over and over. Each time he reappeared, Infinite took another blow. Too quick to keep an eye on. Too quick to retaliate. Infinite had to think fast, and his strength was rapidly fading. He had to get that hedgehog to keep still.

Shadow's boot collided with Infinite's jaw, sending bloody spittle flying. Then he vanished. Infinite growled and crouched, rolling away. Shadow reappeared again where he'd been standing. Chains shot up from the ground, curling around Shadow's limbs and fastening him in place. Wisps of computer code curled from him like steam, but this time he didn't vanish. His eyes widened, fear and irritation plain on his face.

A grin split Infinite's muzzle and he charged his Phantom Ruby into his fist. He struck Shadow hard in the stomach, and he flew back from him. The chains held, and dragged him back towards Infinite like a boomerang. He struck him again with his other fist. Then with a kick. The third time, he let the chains drop.

Shadow soared across the platform, readying his Chaos Control. A swirling crimson vortex appeared behind him, and he was sucked into it. It expelled him back out behind Infinite. The jackal was waiting. He struck Shadow with a back-hand, and he crashed into the wall right beside the tunnel.

Infinite warped towards him and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the wall. He leant into him until they were almost nose to nose.

"You're going to tell me why you're trying to frame me," Infinite told him.

Shadow choked but he didn't back down. "Not until you tell me why I suddenly have your powers."

"Yes, and you're abusing them."

"They're controlling me!" Shadow lashed out, clawing Infinite's arms. "Or is it just you… pulling the strings?"

"You dare…?" Infinite pulled his head back, glaring into Shadow's eyes. "The way you've been taking lives isn't exactly my style, Fake!"

He tightened his grip, and Shadow flailed, struggling as Infinite raised him from the floor. Infinite leered up at him, and a low growl rose in his throat. His free hand lit up with crimson energy and he clenched it into a fist.

'Infinite…'

His eyes widened, that faint voice snapping him out of his blinded rage. Shadow flailed in his grip, clawing at his gloved hand and raising bloody welts along his forearm. The world turned hazy as Infinite saw a black hedgehog fleeing from soldiers, guns firing; racing through the sewers with a white bat in tow; watching Mainframers from the mouth of an alley with a deep longing to join them. Each flash was filled with fear. Fear as soldiers, robots, mercenaries and space pirates dogged him along the streets, through the sewers and over the rooftops. But through it all was the ringing desire for it all to stop. To be left alone. To live.

The haze faded and Infinite found himself staring up at Shadow, slack-jawed. He was still clutching him by the neck, but his grip loosened. Shadow's eyes snapped open and he lashed out, tearing at Infinite's arms, shoulders, face. His claws struck the Phantom Ruby, and Infinite's breath shot from his lungs. An equal look of surprise crossed Shadow's face as time almost seemed to stop. Infinite was blown back from him as if caught in an explosion. A huge flash lit up the platform, spanning out between them like the petals of a flower. Smaller versions of it danced across Infinite's vision, but beyond them he saw Shadow pressed into the wall by the invisible force. Then he slid down it to land hard on his bottom.

The pair stared at each other, panting, trying to work out what had just happened. Then Shadow's eyes narrowed. Crimson energy surrounded his body, and small red cubes rose around him like a swarm of bees. They turned into deadly darts and fired towards Infinite.

The jackal threw up a barrier, letting them ping off it. Each one vanished with a pop. Infinite stood, watching Shadow carefully. The constant drain he'd felt on his energy was gone. And Shadow's attack had done nothing to worsen it, either. It had definitely been the Phantom Ruby. He'd not demonstrated any attacks like that during their fight, yet it was clear he could use his powers prior. Had it really only been subconsciously? Had that contact - that explosion - done something?

Shadow seemed to be thinking the same thing. He stared down at his hands, still surrounded by crimson energy. Not like the Chaos Energy he'd used before, but the strange glowing force Infinite used on a daily basis.

Shadow looked up at him and sneered. "What? Don't want to fight anymore?"

Infinite snorted and raised his fists. Defensively. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight. He just didn't know who he was fighting anymore. Those flashes the Phantom Ruby had shown him… this wasn't the Shadow he knew. Infinite had neither seen nor felt any vehemence towards him from those memories.

Infinite's breaths came in heavy gasps, and his eye never left the hedgehog. Shadow circled to the side, backing Infinite to the edge of the platform. No longer blinded by rage, Infinite just wanted to leave and sleep off the fight. He was feeling the toll of it now. But Shadow clearly wasn't done. Oh well. Even when backed into a corner, a terrified and exhausted animal would still fight to the death, and Infinite had always had a pretty strong survival instinct.

Shadow stopped and threw his arms out to the sides. Identical clones flew out from him, surrounding Infinite. Each one wore an identical smile. Relief? Confidence? Infinite wasn't sure.

The jackal turned on the spot, eyes widening, as he tried to keep each one in his sights. They lunged towards him, throwing blazing kicks and rapid punches. Infinite threw up a shield, but it was swiftly overpowered. He found himself keeling over the edge of the platform to land flat on his back. He let out a pained hiss as the bent metal track jabbed into his spine.

One of the Shadow clones leapt down after him, aiming a kick right at his chest. Infinite rolled, letting the clone strike the floor. Infinite swiped at it, wiping it from reality.

Interesting…

He jumped back onto the platform, cutting through two of the clones. They vanished like vapor. Hundreds of red cubes formed around the jackal and he fired them off in all directions, training them like homing darts onto the remaining Shadows. The darts picked them off, but they were quick. Infinite rolled to dodge a flying kick from one, and when he leapt back to his feet, he received a crescent kick to the chin. He went keeling backwards, back onto the train tracks. But not before cushioning his fall by turning the ground into a springy trampoline.

Infinite landed back on the platform in a crouch, just as the last dart struck the last clone.

Shadow stood panting before him, scratched up from the deadly darts.

Infinite grinned a sinister grin. "Had enough?"

Shadow sneered and lunged towards him. Infinite let out a sigh and snapped his fingers. The station flipped, leaving him stood in the same position on the ceiling. Shadow flailed his arms as he tried to regain his balance on the platform edge above him. The tunnel twisted off at either side, coiling away from the hedgehog into the ground. He staggered back from it gingerly, as if worried he was going to drop off the floor at any second. His crimson eyes were fixed warily on the tunnels.

Infinite smirked and stood up straight, lifting his arm. A deep rumble came from the tunnel, and a huge snake exploded from it. Its jaws snapped at Shadow, causing him to leap back. The gravity around him altered, making each step a sluggish effort. The snake inched closer, its venomous fangs nipping at Shadow's shoes.

Infinite laughed and shook his head. The illusion sucked away at what remaining strength he had, but it ended much sooner than he expected. The snake vanished, and the station snapped back into place around him. He dropped, landing at Shadow's feet. Infinite opened his eyes, groaning, and met Shadow's livid glare. Before Infinite could push himself up, Shadow's blazing boot struck his ribs, launching Infinite across the platform. He struck the steps, sprawling over them, and their jagged stone edges jabbed into his body. Shadow flew towards him in a blazing fury, flames engulfing his fists. Infinite lifted his arms to create a shield, but it crumpled like butter. Each punch seared away his fur, and he roared his retaliation. Roars turned into screams and yelps. He could do nothing. The Phantom Ruby's energy ebbed away with each attempt to get the hedgehog off him.

Once again he'd lost. Lost to that black hedgehog.

"Stop it!"

A loud 'pop!' cut through Infinite's frantic screams, and Shadow keeled back from him. Infinite tried to open his swollen eye, which rapidly healed back enough to see a pink blur standing over him. It wasn't easy to see beyond the blood smearing the inside of his mask, but he knew that blur.

Amy clutched her mallet in both hands, glaring down Shadow.

"Stop this right now!" she demanded.

"Get out of the way!" Shadow took a step towards her, his right hand warping into a matching mallet. Black, with crimson ornaments along its handle.

Amy lifted her mallet beside her head, ready to swing it if she needed to. "If you kill him, you'll just be proving yourself a murderer!"

Shadow's eyes flashed with rage. "He tried to kill me! Now move, before I make you move!"

"Easy there, handsome." Rouge appeared behind Shadow, pulling him aside. "I hate to say this, but Pinkie's right."

Amy lowered her mallet. "Pinkie?"

Shadow's muzzle creased and the mallet vanished. He stamped his foot, hard, kicking up sparks. Then slumped onto the steps with his head in his hands. Rouge sat beside him, placing an arm over his shoulders. But he shrugged her off.

"What am I supposed to do?!" he spat. "Let him wale on me?!"

Infinite flinched with the effort of sitting up, and wiped blood from his muzzle.

"The way I see it," said Rouge, "you're both in the wrong."

Infinite spat at that, along with Shadow. But neither of them really noticed.

Amy crouched down beside Infinite and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Infinite glanced down at his body. The burns were healing up, and fur had regenerated in most places. He nodded stiffly and adjusted his mask. The eye piece had cracked, and a huge break had appeared along the nose, uncannily in the same place it had broken when the Judge had struck him.

Shadow fixed Infinite in a crimson glare. "How can I be in the wrong when he's clearly trying to kill me?"

Infinite narrowed his eye. "You're the one trying to frame me as the murderer, hog."

"It's your powers that are the murderer!"

"Wrong!" Infinite closed his eyes and lifted a claw. "It's definitely you."

"Infinite!" Amy gasped.

Shadow's eyes turned livid and he bared his canines. The Phantom Ruby's energy surrounded him again, and Infinite met his glare. Not so much as a tug on his energy. It had definitely been rectified.

"It's not me!" Shadow roared. "Those murders happen when I'm asleep! Something is controlling me!"

"Exactly." Infinite shrugged. "What's controlling you is your desire to get the heat off you, even for a little while. You want to fit in, to belong in this world. But GUN, Eggman, space pirates… no one will give you that chance."

The crimson energy faded and Shadow sat back against the stairs, watching the jackal dumbfounded. "How do you…?"

"The Phantom Ruby showed me," Infinite said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You want some respite, so you act out in your sleep. Why you have your own Phantom Ruby powers, I haven't a clue. But they were linked to mine, which is probably why you were unconsciously trying to pin the blame on me." He narrowed his eye. "Unconscious or not, I don't appreciate that."

Shadow clenched his fist and let out a small noise, but no words followed.

"'Were'?" Amy looked up at Infinite, confused. "Are you saying it's not draining you anymore?"

Infinite shrugged again. "Something happened. I can't explain it." He frowned at Shadow. "It's like the Phantom Ruby cloned itself, or something." He turned back to Amy. "I'm beginning to think your little wolf friend was right. I think they were trying to communicate to sort things out between themselves."

"Drawing you together like a magnet?" Amy looked between the two. "It makes sense, I guess. But why would it clone itself?"

"No idea." Infinite pushed himself up, groaning with the effort. "Let's leave. I can't stand to look at his face any longer."

Shadow snorted and dug his claws into the stone. "The feeling's mutual."

Infinite bared his canines at the hedgehog, but Amy's hand on his shoulder drew his eye away.

"All this doesn't worry you?" she asked.

"I'm too exhausted to be worried. Let's get out of here, I need a shower and a snack."

"You're just leaving?!" Shadow snapped. "After all that?! You're not even going to apologize?!"

Apologize?

Infinite's jaw stiffened and he failed to bite back a growl. "What for, exactly?"

"For all the aggro you've just put me through!"

So he wanted an apology…

Infinite turned his head towards him slowly. "I'm sorry I thought you were framing me."

Shadow tutted and balled his hands into fists. "That's it? You also accused me of killing your friends. That appeared to be your main motive for all this, not just some set-up."

Infinite snorted out air.

"Shadow's right," said Rouge. "I heard it, too."

Infinite's lips curled back in a sneer. "You might have killed my friends, but you clearly have no memory of it. Whether or not you're from my world-"

"I'm not from your world," Shadow explained. "I was made in Mainframe. I wasn't even born. I'm… just some science experiment." He spat those last words and looked away. "That's why they won't leave me alone."

Rouge placed a hand on his shoulder. "Shadow…"

"And now you…" He fixed Infinite in another glare. "With some kind of baggage, pinning it all on me! You just show up here, and- and-"

Crimson energy surrounded him again and the ground began to tremble. Infinite pulled Amy into him and eyed the ceiling as small rocks rained down from it.

"You've given me some weird powers that are only making me act out in my sleep!" Shadow went on. "Why?! What do you want with me?!"

Infinite raised a hand, and the rumbling stopped. Shadow stood panting and relaxed his fists.

"I didn't give you those powers," he said. "I also don't know why you have them, and believe me, I'd rather you didn't. They've caused a whole host of problems, and not just for me. Besides." He shrugged. "At least you can control it now, and that means no more murders."

He took Amy by the arm and began to walk away, but Shadow's voice froze him. "How can you be so sure?"

Infinite paused at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm not. But they're not bothering me anymore, so something's changed. Now let's not cross paths again. Hmm?"

He marched across the platform, keeping Amy close beside him.

"Was that a threat?" Shadow asked quietly.

Infinite froze in the mouth of the tunnel. A threat… Maybe it had been. He took in a deep breath and placed a hand on the cool stone wall.

"I'm not the one who killed your friends, Infinite," said Shadow.

"Like I said. Whether you are or not, you don't remember it." Infinite glanced back over his shoulder. Shadow wasn't looking at him. "I don't kill innocent men."

Shadow turned surprised eyes on his.

Infinite nodded once and turned from the platform. After two steps, he caught Amy's probing stare. The kind a parent might give a child who hadn't quite finished being scolded. He took in a long, steadying breath and bit his lip.

"I'm sorry," he said bluntly, drawing a surprised grunt from Shadow. "I guess I jumped to conclusions."

He picked up his pace, moving swiftly through the tunnel towards the nearest exit.

...

**Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D**


	46. Sleepless Chapter 23

**A/N - This will be the last chapter for a while, and I have no idea how long it will be. I'm picking up another project to hopefully see out the current Covid19 outbreak, which all being well will also be posted to FFNet. (I don't like not having a current project! It makes me antsy!) Please keep an eye open for Mainframe's third book 'Outbreak'. But until then, this project will be on hiatus.**

**Thank you so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!**

Chapter Twenty Three

It wasn't long before citizens were allowed back into the Beatdrop Capital. The Judge had been stopped, leaving the streets somewhat safe. But citizens remained on edge. The Heartbreaker still hadn't been apprehended, and repeated stories still dominated news headlines.

The intercom echoed out the train's arrival at the Beatdrop Capital, and Silver tucked away his computer in favor of grabbing his bag from the luggage rail. He spotted Blaze through the window, and the lavender cat gave him a cheerful wave. A huge smile split Silver's tired muzzle, and he joined the crowd as the cabin emptied out onto the platform.

Blaze joined his side, still clutching her own small suitcase. "You made it."

Silver shrugged and popped the wheels out of his bag to drag it behind him. "I had no reason to stay in North Cipher."

Blaze smiled at that and they followed the crowd out of the station.

"I'm surprised they're letting us back," she said. "They've not found Shadow yet. He could be anywhere."

"'Anywhere' is his official location at present," Silver explained. "The last I read, GUN don't believe he's even in the Beatdrop Capital anymore."

Blaze raised an eyebrow. "So he's fled?"

"Would you stick around with a mad robot trying to kill you?"

She chuckled, drawing a warm smile from the hedgehog. It was a lame joke. Even those the out-of-control Judge hadn't been trying to kill had fled.

"So are we still looking for him?" she asked.

Silver sighed and ran a hand through his quills. "I don't even know where to start. I think I'm just going to put a pin in this case, if I'm honest."

Blaze's ears drooped. "Oh…"

"We solved it. We found out who the killer is." He paused beside a small pastry stand that had just re-opened that morning, and quickly exchanged his credits for a bag of fresh, piping-hot donuts. "It's up to GUN now to arrest him. I'm not exactly equipped to deal with a freak experiment that can manipulate the very Chaos Network."

Blaze took an offered donut, unbothered by the heat. "I suppose. You struggled enough with Metal Sonic."

"Exactly."

"So… I guess that's it?" She stared at the donut, dodging Silver's gaze.

"I guess so." He paused, then gave a weak shrug. "I'm sorry I accused you, Blaze."

"Don't be. It could easily have been me, you can't pick favourites in this situation. I mean… you had your reasons, and they were all legit." She met his gaze. "If I were in your shoes, I would have probably thought the same thing."

Silver closed his eyes and laughed. "You were singing a whole different song at the time."

"I've had time to think about it."

They stopped at the lights, and she took a bite of her donut, bringing an end to that conversation. The lights changed, ringing out to allow the masses to cross over on their way back to their homes and places of work.

"I'll walk you home." He said it without really thinking about it.

The lavender cat's ears perked up and she gave him a sideways glance. "I was actually thinking… if you have need of an assistant?"

"Really?" His eyes widened and he almost stopped in the middle of the road. "Wow, Blaze… I would if I could, believe me. But I can barely afford my own rent."

She rubbed the back of her ears. "Well… word has now got out that you're the detective who uncovered the murderer. Dad's really happy about it, since you revealed Ember's death wasn't actually down to illegal drugs. He's offered to pay you five times what you usually ask, as a thank you." She took in a breath. "And I don't really want to be the future Mayor of Beatdrop, either."

Silver had to lean against a lamp post. It had all been a lot to take in. He looked down at the cat, a look of concern crossing his face.

"Do you really have a say in that?" he asked.

"They can't force me. It's a huge responsibility, filled with loads of boring paperwork. I'd much rather be doing something more productive, and interesting. And not alone, either."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but detective work has its own fair share of boring paperwork." He punctuated that with a grin, which she returned.

"Think about it," she said. "Please?"

He mock-rolled his eyes and retrieved his luggage. "All right, I'll think about it. You do make a fantastic coffee, after all."

She gave him a playful nudge, then joined his side as they wound their way though the city streets.

...

A few soft grunts came from the sofa, and Amy stopped what she was doing to look past her two friends at the dozing jackal. Infinite rubbed his eyes beneath his mask and gave a wide yawn.

"Good morning, sunshine!" said Tangle. The lemur returned to her web browsing. "Can't believe you sleep with that thing on."

Infinite said nothing, but the glare on his face spoke louder than words.

"You're looking more rested," said Amy. "I guess it's all stopped now, huh?"

Infinite stretched, causing his spine to pop. "Yup! It feels good to be back to my old self again."

"So what's that like exactly?" Tangle swiveled around on her stool, and grabbed her coffee in her tail. "All I know is that tired old grump. Are ya much more fun than all that? Ya finally gonna take me out for coffee?"

Infinite's fur bristled along his spine and his sneer turned into a confused frown. "It worries me that I can't tell if you're joking…"

Tangle's muzzle split into a playful grin and she leant her head on one hand, gazing at the jackal.

Infinite looked up at Amy and Whisper. "Please tell me she's joking…"

Amy looked between the lemur and Infinite. "Sometimes… even I can't tell."

Whisper chuckled silently into her coffee.

"Can we talk about something else?" Infinite turned his back on them. "I feel like I'm about to live a nightmare, here… Alone time with that loud Jack-in-the-Box."

"I actually did that once." Tangle vaulted the gap between the living room and the breakfast bar, landing next to Infinite on the sofa. "Leapt out of a cake dressed as a clown for Whisper's twenty-first."

"It was not okay…" said Whisper.

She followed Amy into the living room, and Tangle looked up at them, grinning.

"Oh come on! You had fun!" she said.

Whisper perched in the arm chair and glanced away from her. "The cake was good…"

Infinite muttered something under his breath, then added, "When I said to change the subject, this was not what I had in mind."

He grabbed the TV remote and flicked it on, bringing up the news. The Heartbreaker was all over it.

Amy clutched her pink mug of tea in both hands, almost hiding behind it. "Sorry. I guess after all that stuff with Shadow and the Judge, we just want to forget about it."

"Well I want to know he's not gonna come waltzing into this apartment again to exact his revenge," said Infinite.

"He didn't seem to want anything to do with you in the first place," said Amy. "You said yourself the Phantom Ruby has fixed itself now."

"What I said was I wasn't being drained anymore. We're still to discover if his is still playing up in his sleep. And if he's anything like me, he won't need to sleep often." Infinite paused, then added, "Usually."

"I wanna know how that happened, anyway," said Tangle. "Did it like… clone itself or something?"

Infinite shrugged a shoulder. "Seems like it."

"So if yours is the parent ruby," said Tangle, "then that makes you technically his Dad, right?"

Infinite's head snapped around towards Tangle, who burst out laughing, sinking into the sofa. Infinite practically trembled, and Amy feared for a moment that the lemur was about to find herself tossed from the window.

"Never… ever… say that again!" Infinite's voice was almost nothing more than a growl.

Tangle lifted her hands in surrender, gasping out between laughs, "Okay! Okay. Just trying to lighten the mood."

Infinite muttered under his breath and turned back towards the news.

"I think things will be okay," said Whisper after a brief silence. "GUN believe Shadow's left the city now."

"Yeah, and Tails and the Guardian Angel trashed that Judge!" Tangle flopped back into the sofa and spread her arms along the back rest. Infinite inched away from her. "I still can't believe I missed that, but still. I think things are gonna return to normal now."

The news cut out, replaced instead by Eggman's face. The words 'Urgent Bulletin' drifted across the bottom. Infinite snorted and bared his canines, a low growl rising in his throat.

'I'm here to address Mainframe regarding the dire situation that has spread throughout the Beatdrop Capital,' said Eggman. 'First, the murderer going by Heartbreaker has seemingly vanished, but my drones and soldiers are keeping a watchful eye open. I know citizens are worrying about this Shadow the Hedgehog, but I assure you he will be apprehended. As for the Judge, it was taken out by soldiers not under my employ. My robots do not usually malfunction, and its release went against my wishes. That particular Judge robot was riddled with errors, and the individual responsible has been dealt with. But the Judge has not been recovered. Its remains have been stolen, most likely by those who destroyed it. If you happen to see it, be it alone or with another Mainframer, I expect you to report this to me immediately. That robot is dangerous, and is to be scrapped to avoid any such issues arising in the future.

'I do hope this mishap does not sully your opinion of EggTech. Robots are your friendly helpers in this society, from Strider Drones keeping the streets safe to the Omochao that assist you in your everyday lives. If any robot should show signs of malfunction, get to a safe place and report it. But I shall strive to avoid such issues arising in the future.'

He cut out as abruptly as he arrived, returning to the news program.

"Amazing, isn't he?"

Amy dropped her mug, sending coffee sloshing over herself and Infinite. The jackal leapt up, snapping his head around towards the speaker. Amy followed his gaze, meeting the amused bespectacled eyes of a white platypus.

"Starline?!" Infinite roared.

"Pardon the intrusion." Starline gave them a small bow. "I let myself in."

Tangle's muzzle twisted. "You can't just go lettin' yourself into someone's house! That's breakin' and enterin'."

"I didn't want to disturb your program." Starline waved towards the TV. "Besides, I'm here to talk with Infinite."

He made his way around the sofa, placing a hand on Infinite's shoulder as he passed. The jackal shrugged him off, baring his sharp teeth. Then sank back into the sofa. He flinched slightly, and Starline waved his hand.

"Sorry about that," he said with a smile. "Your ruff got snagged on my glove."

"What do you want?" Infinite growled.

"I wanted to thank you for your assistance," Starline explained. "I know it wasn't you who brought a stop to that Judge, but you did manage to neutralize Shadow, bringing an end to the murders."

"We don't know that for certain," said Amy. "It's only been two days."

"Thirty seven hours, actually," said Starline.

Tangle raised an eyebrow that and exchanged glances with Whisper. But Infinite didn't appear remotely fazed.

"Were you spying on me?" he growled slowly.

Starline raised his hands in a shrug. "I have cameras everywhere. They were lurking in that abandoned station, recording your every move."

Amy looked up at him with a start. "So that means Eggman-"

"Knows nothing," said Starline. "I was the one who set those cameras there, and their feed came only to me." A sinister smile spread across his beak. "The battle was… interesting, to say the least. A spectacular display of powers I'd wanted to see unfold for years!" He met Infinite's enraged leer with a smirk. "And now I know that Shadow can use them too. How very interesting."

Crimson energy lit up around Infinite's right hand. "Stand still for long enough and you can see them again!"

Amy placed a hand on his shoulder, but it did little to placate him. "Please… don't."

"Yeah," said Tangle, not taking her eyes off Starline. "Otherwise you'll have a lot more to clean up than a few scratches on the wall."

Starline chuckled and raised his hands, taking a step back. "I only came here to thank you, Infinite. Not to agitate you. You've given me more than I could have dreamed. Now… I must return to finding out what happened to that Judge."

Tangle clicked her tongue. "Didn't have any spy cameras lurking around the streets, then?"

"I can't be in more than one place at any one time, my dear." Starline tucked his hands behind his back. "Now. I must be going. I have a lot on my to-do list."

He waved his hand and a wormhole opened up behind him. Tangle let out a surprised gasp and leapt from her seat, but what was on the other side remained obscured by Starline's figure. He stepped back into it, closing it up as quickly as it had appeared.

Tangle flopped back into her seat, exchanging glances with her friends. "What the… that was so awesome!"

"He's not that awesome," Infinite scoffed. He pushed himself from his seat and made his way towards the kitchen. "I wanna know why he's working for that rotten egg."

Tangle flipped onto her knees and folded her arms over the back of the sofa, resting her chin on them. "Not a fan of Eggman, then?"

Infinite snorted, and occupied himself by rummaging through the cupboards.

'…I woke up in some alien world where the man who created me - his best experiment ever! One with phenomenal, alien power! - left me to die!'

Amy watched him sadly, biting back the urge to tell her friends what Infinite had told her weeks prior. She took in a breath and retrieved her pink beaker from the floor.

"I'm going to put on a fresh pot of coffee," she said. "Does anyone want one?"

"What, after that?" Tangle swished her tail gleefully. "Nah! I'm so wired, if I drink any coffee now I'll be bouncin' off the walls!"

Whisper caught Amy's glance and nodded, handing over her mug.

The apartment felt very odd after Starline's presence. Perhaps after their coffee, they could go somewhere for a while. Amy glanced from the window on her way to the kitchen. A city, ruined by a robot, threatened by a serial killer, now trying to return to normal.

As hard as it sounded, her and her friends should also try to do the same.

...

Sonic sighed and slumped back against the wall, folding his arms. "I don't get it, bud. How do you lose an entire robot?"

Tails stared at the spot the Judge had previously occupied. All that remained was a streak of oil, and two sets of footprints. The question had an obvious answer, if one knew what to look for.

"I mean, we were just in here five minutes ago," Sonic went on. "And it was right there." He waved his hand to emphasize his point.

"I know all that, Sonic." Tails' voice was void of any irritation, but T-Pup silently seethed beside him. "It's pretty clear that Shadow showed up and took the Judge away. It was his friend, after all."

Sonic rubbed the back of his quills. "Yeah, I guessed as much. But still, we would have heard them? Argh, they could be anywhere now."

Tails shrugged and went to grab a mop and bucket from the cleaning closet.

"I mean, it wasn't as if we were gonna just turn them in once we'd returned it, right?" Sonic asked.

"It's our job, Sonic. That robot was bait, and they knew it."

Sonic sighed again and looked down at T-Pup. The robot dog returned his look and lowered its head, letting out a whimper.

Tails scooted it aside with his boot and began to mop up the mess.

"Very well," said Sonic. "I hadn't realized you were setting some elaborate trap."

"It's what we're being paid for. I agreed when we believed he was innocent. But the fact is if we'd turned him in when we had the chance, we wouldn't be in this situation. We'd have had no Judge to lose."

"That's… probably true. Whoever sent it wouldn't have felt the need to, but still! We didn't know, we believed he was innocent."

"And our mistake means they've now they've got their hands on a killer robot."

"You believe they'll reactivate it again?" Sonic scoffed. "Come on, Tails. Even you should know that's just some random hypothetical scenario! We did the right thing helping them."

Tails said nothing, occupying himself with the stubborn oil stain on the tiled floor.

Sonic shook his head and turned his attention back on T-Pup. He pushed himself from the wall and tapped his leg. "Come on, bud. Let's leave him to it. I could do with a break anyway."

T-Pup yapped and rose to its feet, following Sonic into the break room.

...

Shadow dropped out of the Chaos Network and leapt off Omega's shell. Rouge landed beside him, flinching at the pain in her legs. It didn't go unnoticed by Shadow. He gave her a quick look, and a fleeting expression of worry crossed his features. He said nothing, busying himself by checking over their surroundings.

It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar place. They'd retreated to an old abandoned factory on the outside of Backlink Town. It had been closed down due to the amount of landslides from the Backbone Mountain, sending repair costs through the roof. Rather than secure it in the town's protective wall, it had been left to decay and the factory was built anew further from the mountain.

It was in worse shape than when they'd last seen it. Part of the ceiling had broken away where a hefty rock had shattered the window on the floor above, letting the boulder inside. A muddy trail marred the wall, and a pile of mud and rubble lay beneath the crack. The large rock threatened to plummet through the floor at any second, but the dried soil and small stringy plants emerging from it suggested it had been threatening that for some time.

"It'll do for now," said Rouge.

She limped towards the wall and settled down against it to check over her wounds. Shadow watched her silently, his intense gaze trailing over her body. She looked up and gave him a warm smile.

"What?" she asked.

"You should get those looked at."

She inclined her head on one side. "Really? I go into a hospital, GUN will find me in a heartbeat. I'm a fugitive, Shadow."

"Not if you're smart about it," he scoffed. "You can't leave them unchecked, they'll get infected."

"Then it's a good job I have some antiseptic on me, isn't it?" She pulled a bottle from her bag to make her point. "I'm not leaving you, Shadow. Not just over some bullet wounds."

He glanced down at her bloodied and bandaged legs and his fingers twitched. He wanted to say something else. Perhaps how, unlike him, she couldn't regenerate. But she'd had the lecture several times already. Instead, he dropped down next to her and took the antiseptic from her hands.

Rouge thought about retaliating, but instead just brushed it off and left him to it. She stifled a hiss as he dabbed the stuff on one of her worse wounds, and he glanced up at her and muttered an apology.

"I don't see any bullets or fragments," he said. "That's a relief."

"Most of them just skimmed me," she said. "And I removed any that I saw."

He tensed at that, but said nothing else, working silently. If it wasn't for the stinging, Rouge would have just pulled out a book and read it. When he'd finished with one leg, she wrapped fresh bandages around it and let him move onto the other. All of them had stopped bleeding, but some decided to give it a second attempt after being dabbed at.

Once Shadow was done, he checked over her arms and wing, the right one of which still sported a neat little hole. Then he stood up and wiped his hands on his fur.

"I still think you should get them looked at," he said.

"But you're reassured after checking yourself, right?"

She smirked up at him, but he didn't return it. His eyes glistened as if he might cry, and Rouge's smirk swiftly melted away.

"Maybe a little," he muttered.

"Shadow…" Rouge pushed herself up, wincing with the effort. "I'm not silly. If I think I need to get them looked at, I will. GUN train in first aid, I know what I'm doing."

"Well I think you're an idiot." He flopped against the wall and folded his arms, dodging her gaze. "Unlike me, you don't regenerate. You didn't need to get yourself mangled for me."

"I'm not mangled," she said. "And it wasn't for you. It was for Omega." She nodded towards the robot.

Shadow glanced over her shoulder at the motionless robot and scoffed.

"Oh come on," she said. "He gave himself up to save both of us, what's a few bullets? Besides, if we can restore him, our defense goes right up! He doesn't need to sleep. Neither of us will need to worry about keeping watch, and you won't need to be on edge all the time listening for footsteps. He'll be there! Our first line of defense. Besides, you liked his jokes."

Shadow met her gaze, but there was no hint of a smile. He actually looked tired. Ragged, and unkempt.

"Then maybe he can keep me at bay if those powers start playing up again," he said.

Rouge felt her heart sink. "Shadow… I honestly don't think that-"

He raised a hand, cutting her off. "I don't care what that jackal said. Until I see proof, I still think I'm a risk."

"Risk or not, I don't believe for a minute you would have targeted me."

"And what if I had?"

She shook her head and moved into him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We need to put this behind us, Shadow. You can control them now. You couldn't before. That's a start, right?"

He placed his hand over hers. "You didn't answer me."

"I'm not going to answer a hypothetical question."

He sighed and lowered his head to hers. His other hand looped around her side, pulling her closer to him. Her nose almost vanished in his white chest fur.

"Why do you have to do foolish things?" His breath tickled between her ears.

She chuckled, more to stifle a gasp. He wasn't usually one to initiate contact. "I don't make a habit of it, handsome."

He scoffed, but he didn't relinquish her. She lifted her head to ask a playful 'would you really have me any other way?' but the words vanished from her mind. His claws trailed up between her wings, and his other hand brushed the side of her cheek. She met his eyes, warm and no longer glistening with unshed tears. He brushed his lips against hers, and her breath froze in her chest.

It was only brief, but enough to send her heart aflutter.

"You've been doing foolish things since you threw your life away for me," he said.

"Really?" She reached up and trailed her fingers through his quills. Her nose brushed his and her voice wavered. "Because I think that's the most sensible thing I've ever done."

She pulled him back into her, catching him in a kiss. He fastened both arms around her, holding her close. He was the first to break it. He buried his face in her neck, not willing to relinquish her.

"Thank you…" His voice was thick with tears. "For not giving up on me."

Rouge closed her eyes, blinking back tears of her own. "Of course."

...

Starline strolled through the corridor, checking the various rooms. Eggman hadn't been at his usual spot by the cameras, and there was no sign of Metal Sonic either. The sound of a tinny drill echoed from one of the far rooms. Starline made a little 'aha!' and picked up pace, following the noise. A few curious beetle-like robots watched him pass, their eyes boring into him with suspicion.

Starline found Eggman standing over a table, working on the robotic hedgehog. He looked up when Starline entered, then tutted, returning to his work.

"What do you want?" he scoffed.

"I have something that might interest you, sir."

"Really? Is it the remains of that Judge?"

"Oh, it's better than that." Starline held out his hand.

Eggman frowned at the white fluffy tuft clenched between the platypus' fingers. "What is that?"

"Some of Infinite's fur, sir." Starline's beak turned up in a smirk. "I thought it might help to jump-start your regeneration project."

Eggman dropped the drill beside Metal Sonic in favor of the fluffy white fur. Metal Sonic gave a few beeps of protest and waved at his missing arm. Eggman took no notice. He turned the fur in his fingers, watching the light bounce off its glossy sheen.

"How did you get this?" he asked Starline with some suspicion.

Starline waved his Warp Topaz. "I have my means. Besides, you wanted the Judge stopping, so I thought I'd call in the big guns. However, it appears it wasn't Infinite that ended the Judge. But…" He nodded to the fur. "Consider this a token of my loyalty."

Eggman narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm more inclined to call it a guilt offering."

Starline's beak went slack. "I am only trying to aide your research! It could hugely benefit someone like me, who relies on your technology. It could rule out years of necessary scheduled maintenance."

Eggman chuckled and popped the tuft into a small plastic container. "Well, I appreciate the effort, Starline. But of course, I'm going to need a test subject."

Starline stiffened and stuttered over his next sentence. It failed to form.

Eggman laughed again and waved him off. "Forget it. I'm not wasting my time cutting you open. I just wanted to watch you squirm for a moment. No… I think there's someone here who'd benefit hugely from becoming my prototype."

Metal Sonic gave an ear-splitting screech and looked up at Eggman. If Starline didn't know any better, he'd have mistaken it for fear, but the robot was merely surprised.

"Aye." Eggman jammed the robot's arm back in place and began soldering the wires. "No more missing limbs! How about that, Metal Sonic?"

The robot lifted its working arm in a thumbs-up.

"Then we can get my project in motion!" Eggman laughed and fired Starline a glare. "You want to secure your position as my lackey, you can get some tea."

"Of course, sir!" Starline saluted and rushed from the room.

One of the many beetle robots rolled its way along it, sweeping the floor clean. It vanished around the bend, leaving Starline alone in the hallway.

He paused, casting a glance back at the door to Eggman's lab. A frown formed on his beak and he muttered under his breath.

"Your plan in motion, huh?" He adjusted his tie and turned to head towards the kitchen. "Well, so is mine."

...

**So there it is! The end of the Judge arc! **

**Thank you so much for reading! Please R&R, and I'll get back to all reviews ASAP! Please keep an eye on my profile or Tumblr (Del's Mad World) for updates as to when Book 3 will be coming!**


End file.
